The Long Road
by Eroth Black Dragon
Summary: Almira Iris Woodson was your average 21st century ranch hand and part time collage student. Till one day she woke up to find her self in the Revolutionary War, and if that wasn't mind numbingly strange enough, she also learns about another war, that of the Assassin's and Templars. Now she must learn to live in a time long before she was born, all the while asking why? and how?
1. Chapter 1

Earth. I could smell moist earth, feel it as I twitched my fingers. At least they still worked. I took another breath, adding lungs to the Things – That – Still – Work list, as I slowly cracked my eye's open. Sunlight filtered through the tree canopy where I lay, making it not so blindingly bright as I opened my eye's.

Wait, sunlight?

Pushing myself up, I looked around, seeing trees, bushes and grass' thrive in warm summer air. Only, it shouldn't be summer. Things should be dead and half frozen in the last dregs of winter, the sun should be blocked by the pouring March rain I had been riding in, making it almost too cold to be bearable. Another thing was, these were not my woods. This place I was in, not only was it the wrong season, but the woods, the trees, seemed _older_. And quieter.

Granted, there were some birds fluttering around in the trees, singing to each other, along with a gentle wind rustling the leaves but that was it. I strained my ears for the sounds of nearby traffic. The ranch I worked at was right next to the highway, and only in the farthest corners of the property could you find silence as pure as this.

I was dreaming... Or in some kind of coma, I had to be. The last thing I could remember was falling through something in the ground. I must of hit my head. I reached up, feeling for a lump, but only finding hair tangled with mud on my head. Actually I was covered in the stuff, from my oilskin duster to my favorite riding boots, it was all covered in a layer of black mud. Smelly, gooey, black mud. Groaning slightly at the state I was in I stood, taking a more prolonged look at my surroundings.

My earlier assessment of this forest being old, seemed confirmed on second glance. The trees were big, tall and broad things, So unlike the trees to be found at my childhood home, or the woods on the ranch. Secondly, I seemed to be on some sort of plateau in the woods. Not too far from where I was laying there was a sharp drop off, with trees seeming to deify gravity by clinging to the side of it, only stopping near the bottom where a small river flowed.

Where the _HELL_ was I?

_You're having a dream remember?_ I told my self as I turned from the drop off, looking up through the trees at the sky._ You're in a coma. Pretty soon the trees will start talking, or some naked guy will hop out and give you directions._ At that last thought I glanced back down, warily looking around, peaking around some of the bigger trees for God-knows-what. Finding nothing I sighed to my self, looking down at my prized boots, the likes of which were still covered in the black earth poo. Scraping a gob of it off my arm, I held it closer in examination. It seemed almost clay-like in substance, but for it's inky color, not to mention it _reeked_. It smelled like the old mold and mildew, that grew in the dank and damp parts of abandoned buildings and sewers. The likes of which remind you of eerie caves deep in the earth that –

Wait I fell. I fell off my horse, then I fell through the ground. _Through the ground_. I remember the falling, then the lack of falling along with the lack of light and then... And then I was here.

Oh good Lord above I was Alice in Wonderland...

_Its a dream, its a dream, its a dream, its a dream..._ I told my self as I dropped my goo filled hand and rising the other to my head as I slowly spun around, trying hard not to panic. _I fell off Carmel and hit my head, I'm just having a dream. It'll all end soon, I just got to wake up._ Flopping down on the ground I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, but stopping abruptly when pain lanced through my face. When the sudden pain subsided, I carefully touched my nose again, trying to figure out if it was broken or not. Finally I determined that it was not, and instead folded my hands in my lap.

_This isn't a dream_

"Alright," I mumbled quietly to my self "Time for a recap. Want to know why you're here, you gotta know where you were." so I shut my eyes, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm my self as I went back in to memory of earlier today.

_We were missing a few cattle from the herd, four or five, the lot of which probably had formed there __own little herd and broken off from the main group. William wanted them found and brought back to the barns, the freezing mid-march down pour was about to turn worse with threats of a severe storm coming this way. So I hopped on my cow pony, Carmel, and set out to find the lost buggers. The herd with the missing four had come from one of the farther pastures, a place where, yes, you could get away from the noise of the highway if you wanted to. IF that is, you could get over the creep factor. _

_A good hunk of the land on that part of the property was covered in craggy rock, along with big birch trees and pines that made the place seem as if it had been ripped from the Lord of the Rings. The lost cattle were obviously not in the field portion of this part of the land, so to the forest I went. It was dark in the forest, even with the leaves gone, the pines were able to block a lot of the gloomy day's light. The rain and the gloom made things difficult to navigate, even more so with tracking. Once in a while I'd catch sight of a cow hoof print, only to loose it on the rocky parts of the forest. _

_It was at some point while I was riding along one of the craggy ravines when I finally heard what I had been looking for; a grumpy sounding moo. It had echoed from one of the other ravines that lead off in to the forest again, so I turned Carmel down that path and let the gelding carefully pick his way over the slippery rocks. It was at a point where one side of the ravine had turned mostly in to dirt, but the other side was still towering rock when it happened. Thunder. At least that's the only thing I can describe it as. I hadn't seen a flash, I only heard the noise and to be fair to poor Carmel, it scared me shitless too._

_My pony bolted, causing him to slip on the wet stone and stumble a bit, which threw me right in to the craggy rocks face first. That's why my face hurt, and that's why I fell. Still having some senses left I had rolled out of the way of Carmel's stomping hooves, but I hadn't looked WHERE I was rolling. The craggy rock had a small space giving just enough room that I could roll under it and out of danger. Or so I had thought. The space had hidden some sort of sinkhole. Some of the mud had given away under me, and before I could stop my self I slid in to it, along with more mud and small streams of rain water. All I can remember of the fall was how sacred I was, how terrified that I would die down in whatever depths this place had._

_I couldn't see anything when I finally came to a stop. But I could hear things. I could hear more mud and water falling down after me, the sound of my own shuddering breath and then... Then there was the sound of something else... Something whispering._

That was the last thing I remember. After that I woke up, here, in the middle of no where. Scrunching up my nose I felt the pain there, it was an affirmation that no, this wasn't a dream. Saved me from pinching my self I suppose. Clearly something bizarre had happened, the most outlandish being teleportation. That's it, I've been teleported. _Great,_ I thought _next I'll be telling my self the aliens did it..._

I stood up then, trying fruitlessly to brush off the seat of my duster (being impossible, since it was covered in the black goo.) just then, something shiny caught my eye. "Oh hey, you made it." I said as I went over to the object. It was the decorative charm I wore on my Aussie hat, a family trinket I found once that apparently belonged to my great, great grandfather. It seemed to be some sort of arrow head, but made of metal not stone, it was also in more of a teardrop shape, with little added hooks on the back end for attaching it to the arrow shaft.

Picking up my hat ( the likes of which was covered in the same black goo as I was,) I decided that sitting around here wasn't going to answer any questions, so I donned my hat and headed down to the river. While I had to be careful on the trek down, I wouldn't of called it hard. Never-the-less I was still drenched in sweat by the time I reached the bottom, but I suppose wearing winter clothing in the summer time will do that to you. Reaching the river I noticed it wasn't as deep as one might think, not at this spot anyway, coming up to a little above mid chest. I decided to take this opportunity to clean my self along with my cloths from the black ick that currently covered me.

I started with my duster, beginning to splash the water on it before giving up and simply dunking the entire thing in to the river. I followed suite with my boots, pants, flannel shirt, tank top and finally my hat. I let each article dry on large, near by rocks as I waded in to finally clean my skin. The water was surprisingly clean, it even smelled clean. I was sorely tempted to take a drink, but my better judgment made sure I kept my mouth closed as I dunked my head in to the river. I scrubbed my face and undid my medium length red-brown hair from its braid to rid my self of the black ooze. I felt a bit silly wading in the river in nothing but my underwear, ( I didn't have complete confidence I was alone. Getting caught in one's underwear is slightly less embarrassing then getting caught with out it.) but it did feel good to finally get the blackness off as well as cool down a bit in the summer heat.

I stretched out on a semi flat rock by my cloths to let my self sun dry, soaking in the warm sun rays that I didn't get to enjoy back at the ranch. I perhaps let an hour pass by before I went over to my cloths to see how their drying process was going, when I heard a voice echo from up steam. I immediately jumped in to my pants and tank top, pulling the top over my head just in time to witness a green dress float down the river. I paused in confusion for a moment, noticing a few more articles of clothing float along the river behind it.

"Oh Connor, I'm so sorry! That damn stray is such a menace!"

I heard an accented womans voice echo down the river, followed by splashing noises. Looking in the direction of the sounds, I saw a woman dressed in an old fashioned dress complete with a bonnet. She stood on the river bank, while a man dressed in a white-ish coat, waded out in to the river retrieving several articles of clothing from the water. I wasn't sure how or why so much of the womans cloths had made it in to the river, but what I did know was that man was not going to be able to save them all. So I jumped in, going after the dress that first caught my eye, along with rescuing a few shirts and two pairs of pants. That was all that seemed to have slipped out of the mans grasp, seeing as he had gone back to shore. He unloaded his catch in to a large basket the woman had, before they made their way over to me as I myself had just reached the opposite side of the river.

" I hope I didn't miss anything."

I said to them when they came with in talking distance, holding out the sopping cloths to the woman as she drew near.

"Oh, thank you lassie!" the woman chirped as she held out the basket, giving me a relieved look. "I thought Terry's favorite trousers were gone for good!" I smiled at her as I put the dripping cloths in to the basket with the others. The two individuals were dressed a little strangely, the man more so then the woman. While the woman wore an old fashioned green dress, complete with an apron that had clearly seen plenty of uses, and a bonnet with pretty lacy trim, the man was an entirely different story.

He wore an off-white coat that was accented with blue trim, along with moccasins and leather chaps that came clear up to his mid thighs. He was also _bristling_ with weapons. On his back was strapped a quiver of arrows along with a bow, a wicked looking tomahawk was slung on his hip, along with what looked like an old flint lock pistol and of all things a _sword_ was strapped to his other hip. _Who carry's a sword around now-a-days?_ I thought to my self as I noticed the man staring at me as well. To be frank, I had been staring at him for a little longer then necessary, he was what I would qualify as "a looker". His skin tone was a deep coppery color, and his eye's were dark brown. His hair was glossy black with some of it pulled back in to a small pony tail, save for a single small braid decorated with a few beads. Tearing my eye's off the man I looked back over to the woman, extending my hand to her in greeting,

"You're very much welcome ma'am, name's Almira by the way." I nodded with a smile at her as she took my hand and gave it a light shake.

"Almira, such a nice name! I'm Diana and this is Connor." The woman (I think she was Irish, if I could go by her accent.) gestured to the man who stood beside her, who extended his own hand with a friendly nod of his head.

"What brings you to Davenport?" He asked me after we shook hands. I sheepishly glanced back across the river to where the rest of my things laid out on the rocks, then to the hill I had climbed down to get there.

"Well, I was just about to ask you about that," I said as I looked back to them, "You see, I'm a bit lost." I shrugged not really knowing how to tell them; _Yeah, I woke up on that hill just over there covered in this weird goo and last thing I remember, is it being winter time and now it's summer... none of you saw me in my underwear right?_

Yeah... that would go over well.

The man – Connor – nodded in understanding as he responded to me, "You are in Massachusetts, in the Davenport homestead." Ok, Massachusetts. At least I was still in the States, never heard of Davenport though. Alright, I suppose it's time to ask the kicker question;

"What's today's date, if I might ask?" I inquired as I cocked my head to one side. Diana and Connor exchanged a slightly confused look before Connor answered me again.

"It is September 12th, 1773."

...Wait, what?


	2. Chapter 2

To my embarrassment, the shock of hearing the date had nearly made me pass out. _Nearly._ I really just became very light headed and dizzy, with a small side of panic. At first I was in denial, asking them repeatedly to tell me the date ( their answer was always the same, but with varying degrees of alarm.) before I finally decided that _no this wasn't a trick_ and collapsed on the ground to have a small panic attack. The woman, Diana, was fretting over my condition and instructed Connor to assist me to her home. After two failed attempts at getting me to stand and walk in a straight line, Connor finally gave up and simply carried me to the woman's house. (Dignity had abandoned me it seemed...)

There, I was set in a chair and _gently_ forced to drink some sort of concoction. Might of been tea, I wasn't sure, but it did have the odd achievement of being both tasty, and disgusting at the same time. I think the drink had the desired effect, for it both calmed me, and slapped me back in to focus. When I had finally come back to reality, I noticed that Connor had left, and only Diana remained. She was filling up another cup of Concoction for me when I stood up, trying to take in my surrounding for the second time that day.

"Oh, no no, dearie! Sit, sit!" The Irish woman waved me back in to my seat and brought over another cup for me to drink. Not really remembering how many I had had before, I tried to wave it off,

" Oh come on dearie, this is the last cup. You'll feel right as rain after this." I highly doubted this, but drank it anyway, taking four large gulps to get it down fast. Diana took a seat across from me, folding her hands in her lap as she watched me down the contents of the cup, before leaning forward a little, speaking in a calm soothing voice.

" Now Dearie, can ya tell me what this fuss is about? What put you in such distress?"

I fidgeted with the empty cup for a moment, wondering what to tell her. _Can't tell her the truth_ I thought, _Well... Not all of it._ That's it, I could give her an edited version. Looking at her I continued to roll the cup between my hands as I begun my story.

" I woke up this morning to a cold March rain on a farm no where near the Massachusetts territory. The last thing I remember was falling off my horse and in to the mud, only to wake up on the hill just over there." I said with a wave of my hand in the general direction of said hill. Glancing back at her, the look on her face told me everything; I was a nut job.

I sighed, standing up and walking over to the small counter where Diana had poured my drink. Setting the cup down I leaned on it before turning back to the woman.

"I know I sound crazy, maybe I am. But I swear to you, the last thing I can remember is falling in to the mud at my farm, and then waking up in these woods." I closed my eye's and rubbed my temple, sighing as I did so, "I just... I can't..." I stuttered before going back to the chair, putting my head in my hands and letting my loose hair fall around my face. I sat there like that for a moment before I peeked through my fingers to stare at my feet. My bare feet. Frowning I brushed back my hair as I stood again.

"I'm sorry," I said glancing at her, then to my self "I left the rest of my cloths by the river."

I must of looked a sight to them, with the way I was dressed. Nothing but a dark green tank top and blue jeans._ How scandalous..._ I thought as I took a step towards the door,

"No need dearie, Connor's gone ta fetch your things. He should be back soon." Diana said as she stood, placing a hand on my arm, she gestured back to the chair I was just in, "Please, sit. From the sounds of it, you're having a rough time, let me get you some more tea." I obliged, plopping my self back in the chair as she poured another cup for me. I didn't want more tea though, I wanted something stronger. Couple shots of whiskey would be nice. Actually just leave the bottle...

Just as I begun sipping the drink, the door suddenly swung open, reveling a slightly frowning Connor who held nothing but my hat. I frowned at him, _where are the rest of my things?_ I wondered as he took a few steps towards me,

"Are you well enough to walk?" He asked. I stood and nodded,

"Yes, of course." I paused for a second before wincing slightly "I'm sorry about my episode earlier, it's just that-" I stopped when he held up his hand, giving a small shake of his head.

"You can explain later at the manor," he half turned towards the door then, extending a hand towards it,

"I took your thing's there. Please, Achilles is waiting for us." I stood for a second staring at the man, before I just nodded at him. He hadn't shouted, or growled at me to get up and move, he had simply, calmly asked me to come. And yet... And yet I found my self _intimidated? Why does he intimidate me?_

I brushed it off, _I can think on it later_, I thought as I thanked Diana for her hospitality and walked out the door, followed closely by Connor. He lead me down a well worn dirt path that seemed to be big enough for a good sized cart. At least it wasn't all gravel.

"Why are we going to see... who did you say... Achilles? Why are we going to see Achilles?" I asked after a few minutes. Connor glanced at me, his brow furrowed in what seemed like confusion.

"Did you not intend to seek him out when you arrived?" It was my turn to look confused, or just more so, as the case may be.

"No, Connor. I didn't _intend_ on seeking anyone out, because I didn't even _intend_ to come here!" I nearly shouted at him, emphasizing my last words by spreading my arms wide. His frown deepened as he slowly came to a stop, giving me a wary look. I was suddenly aware of how armed he was, and how _unarmed_ I was. If this went side ways I was a goner. Lifting up my hat, Connor indicated the small trinket I kept there,

"Is this not yours?"

I looked from my hat to the man holding it, then back again. _What the hell does that have to do with anything?_

"Of course that's mine. Been mine for a while now, and no, I can't tell you where to find one because it's a family hair loom and-" My voice had been rising till I was near full on yelling, when I finally noticed something that made me stop in my tracks; his belt buckle. It looked almost identical to my arrow head. Connor stared at me for a moment, before glancing down at the buckle and back at me. It was then that I remembered where belt buckles were located and hastily turned away from him, feeling heat rise to my cheeks and ears. We both stood there in silence for a moment, me staring at my toes, and him staring at me, before I finally spoke up. Clearing my throat I sheepishly turned back to him,

" ah, sorry. I... I'm just, not sure why or _how_ I got here." I said as I nervously scratched the back of my head, before gesturing at my trinket and continuing. " Or what any of this has to do with _that._"

He remained silent, simply staring at me for a moment, before glancing down at my hat, then back as he slowly offered it it me.

" Perhaps we will both find answers with Achilles." He said as I took my hat from him. I gave it a look before I gathered my hair up, twisting it on top of my head, then deftly slipping my hat over it. There, now whatever my come, I could at least meet it with out my hair in my face. We continued our walk in silence after that, allowing me time to take in my surroundings as well as assess the man beside me. As I watched him from the corner of my eye, I begun to understand what had intimidated me so. It was in the way he moved, how he looked at things, and how he reacted to others. Connor was a predator, and judging by his armament, he didn't just hunt the critters of the forest.

I was glad when we finally reached the manor, my bare feet were beginning to feel raw from the short trek, making me almost limp. Once in side, Connor lead me to a large room where an elderly man sat, hunched over slightly in his chair, leaning on his cane. On a table next to the elder were my things; my duster, flannel shirt, a sock (where's the other one?) and on the floor next to them were my boots. One thing, however, was not mine, a gulf-ball sized crystal orb sat next to my duster. The crystal looked pure and was polished to a bright shine, it had lines etched in to it, precise and thought out, with some filled in with gold.

"Achilles," Connor said, interrupting my captivation of the orb, "This is she." the old man looked up at me from his seat before slowly standing.

"Ah, so this is the wandering girl, hm? The boy showed me you possessed our symbol, so I am curious as to why you're here."

Connor jumped in at this point, holding out a hand as if to stop any further questions. "She does not know what it stands for, she simply inherited it." Achilles eye brows rose at this,

"Inherited you say? Hm, and you were never told what it represented?" I shook my head, feeling my eyebrows draw together in a frown.

"I wasn't aware it represented anything but my family's heritage." It was true, the story I was always told was that my Great grandfather came to the States from Scotland, met one of the Native American Pottawatomie girls and married her. The arrow head was always assumed to be a gift from her to him. Ta-da my family history.

"So I would take it then, that you know nothing about the artifact?" he said, gesturing to the crystal that sat on my coat.

"It fell from your coat when I retrieved it, I assumed it was what lead you here. I have seen one similar to before." Connor said as he shifted slightly more towards Achilles, the two of them looking at me with questioning gazes. My frown deepened, causing the dull pain in my nose to recur as my emotions started slipping from confused to angry.

"Look, you want to know why I'm here? Well let me tell you what I told Diana," I said as I begun to walk over to one of the windows in the room.

"When I woke up this morning it was to a mid March rain out on my farm. I go out to find some wayward cattle and end up taking a fall from my horse. I wake up only to find my self in the middle-of-no-where Massachusetts in sunny _mid September weather_!" I was shouting now as I pointed out the window, trying to emphasize my point.

"So no," I growled as I turned back to the duo, "I don't know what this _symbol_ of yours means. Nor do I know- our own for that matter – any of these _artifacts_." I hissed the last word as I ripped my hat from my head, pointing emphatically to the arrow head, "THIS is just a bauble, and that-" I said pointing now to the crystal, before stomping over to it and snatching it from the table to shake in their face. "This is just an over sized marble!" I said. Or meant to say, For as soon as my hand closed around the crystal, a painfully bright, blinding light exploded from it, engulfing the world for a moment before dimming. It took a few seconds before I could see my surroundings again, and what I saw, wasn't welcome in the slightest.

"Oh God dammit..."

The Manor was gone. The woods were gone. The world seemed to be gone as I stood in an empty, endless space softly lit by an unknown source.

"There you are..."

I spun around when I heard a deep unfamiliar masculine voice resound in the void. I saw no one however, and begun to turn in circles in search of the owner, only to see the vast Endless Expanse of Nothing greet me.

"Hello?" I said, hearing my voice echo through the Nothing. I suppose I should have been terrified, or shocked or whatever to find my self in this place, but at the moment I was just mad to find my self in yet _another_ strange location by means of unknown transportation.

"Almira Iris Woodson, I've been waiting for you."

suddenly forming right in front of me was the image of a man. He looked a little like the portrayals of Zeus, tall, clothed in robes and had a damn good beard. But really, all that concerned me at the moment was that he was see through and knew my name.

"What?"

The thing smiled at me. He smiled at me as if he were my father, kindly teaching me the ways of life. _If he try's to pat me on the head I swear I will find a way to smack that condescending smile off his face..._

"I have been waiting for your arrival, for the beginning to begin."

"... What?"

" It is difficult to explain to one who has not interacted with us before, nor has knowledge of our existence." he said as he begun to pace, a slow almost lazy gait. "Suffice to say, we came... from before."

"Before _what_?"

I snarled at the thing as I followed him. In response he extended his hand and a dozen different images materialized around us, all of people who looked very much like him residing in some sort of futuristic society. In some of these images there was a clear depiction of slavery, the tall, robed individuals presided over a group of (usually) unclothed people, wielding an orb that looked similar to the "over sized marble" I had. I went to glance down at it, only to realize that not only was I not holding anything in my hands, my own cloths had up and left me as well. If that wasn't disturbing enough, I had glowing lines racing their way a across my body.

" What the _HELL?!_" I squeaked as I ignored the images to stare at my self in near horror. The man turned back to me then, causing me to try in vain to cover my self. "Where the hell are my cloths!" I shouted at him. His response was to simply smile,

"This Nexus was built in haste, built for you and your path."

"Me?! _My_ path? And what the hell is a Nexus?" _and that really didn't answer my question about my cloths..._ He turned and begun walking again, gesturing for me to follow.

"The Nexus is where we are child, a place where I can speak to you, about what is and what will be." I was beginning to suspect that I would only receive cryptic words in response, from the Zeus like man before me. Before I could ask another question, however, Zeus spread his arms wide as he begun to speak.

"Long ago, we sought to save the world from the inevitable."

at this a dozen images of the world on fire appeared, but it was a fire the _engulfed_ the world, seeming to destroy everything. The images changed then, showing the tall robed beings fighting their slaves, but a few of the slaves seemed... different.

"war blinded us to what was coming, until it was to late. We could not save the world then."

Again the images of the earth on fire appeared, only now it showed cities crumbling and people dieing along with it.

"We could, however, help the future prepare. So we devised a way, but in the end we were deceived. One of our own sought a way to rule instead of save, and rule she will." He said as he stopped walking and all the images disappeared.

"But only for a time. For you Almira, are the beginning to her end." He said with obvious pride in his voice as he looked down at me. To be truthful, I still didn't understand anything, it just seemed all so... mythical to be true.

"What do you mean 'the beginning to her end'? How can I be a beginning to something in the future when I'm not there to begin it?" this was getting confusing.

"Because the beginning doesn't start where you came form, it starts with where you _are_." … Things were making less sense as time went on... "Juno saw her path to rule, and became fixated on it. So much that she did not notice those who stood beside it. You Almira Woodson, are the unforeseen anomaly in her plan. You will be overlooked, and it is there that you will start the beginning." He smiled at me again, but it wasn't a happy smile, it was apologetic.

"I tell this to you, so you will understand why. Why you can not go back."

It took me a moment to puzzle that one out, and when I did dread begun to settle in my gut.

"Wait what are you saying? What do you mean I can't go back? You mean go back home don't you, you're saying I can't go back home?"

The smile that was on his face slowly fell as he nodded.

"But I have a family! I have sisters and parents and nieces and nephews, not to mention all of the other people I love! I _can't_ just leave them!" I might have been crying at this point. I wanted to cry.

"You have left Almira, and they will mourn your absence, but they will live on. Your presence here will ensure there freedom in the future. Does that not give you comfort?"

"No..." I heard my voice crack as it echoed through out the Nothing. "I don't see how I can help them be freed from _future_ domination by being in the past!" I croaked at him.

"Because this is the beginning. You are the beginning. You will guide and be guided, and learn and teach many things, here, with them. Here, with the ones who bear the symbol."

Around us the room exploded in to a thousand of the tear-dropped shaped symbols. They varied in style from one to another, but they were all definitely all the same. All like my trinket.

"Go child, begin the future, begin the light of hope." He reached down and gently clasped my head in his hands. I wanted to bat them away, but as soon as he touched me the space erupted in to light again, but this time didn't fade right away. Instead the light kaleidoscoped in to broken bits of images and sound, as if they were memory's seen through shards of glass.

_I looked down my arrow shaft, lining it up to its target before letting it fly – looking down at my shaking hands I could see they were covered in blood – standing in the manor I was facing Connor and Achilles, both of whom were smiling at me – my hand was laced with another's, as I watched children run and play with each other – I saw two young men stand smiling at me, one held a babe, the other held the hand of a woman _

Time jumped I was no longer me,

_Struggle in war, a civil war. My friend died as I held his hand – a pretty nurse tended my wounds, smiling sweetly at me – I held a new born baby in my arms, she cried at the sight of the world _

Time kept jumping, I saw generations of lives flash before my eyes before it finally stopped at one memory.

_She had taken over, unknown and unwanted. For generations my family had fought for freedom, now was no different, I had knowledge others didn't. I had ability's she could not dominate. I will lead. I will be her end._

The Kaleidoscope of memory's ended as the light took over again, fading slowly to revel the ceiling of a sun lit room. Slowly I sat up, seeing that yes, I was still in the manor, and that someone (most likely Connor) had moved me to a seat that resembled a couch. I looked around the room, just then noticing Achilles and Connor sitting by one of the windows, as if they were waiting for me to wake up.

"I see they've decided to let you rejoin us." Said Achilles as he slowly stood from his seat and made his way over to me.

I looked down then at the crystal in my hand, only to find white glittering dust leak out from between my fingers. The orb had disintegrated. I looked up at Achilles, who simply looked at the dust and sighed.

"Seems it was meant just for you child." I sat there a moment, staring at the remnants that had told me everything and nothing at the same time.

"It wanted me to learn what the symbol means." I finally said in a voice that sounded distant to even me. I looked up from the dust to Achilles, trying hard but failing to keep tears from falling,

"I can't go home."

I clenched my eye's shut as more tears begun to blur my vision, hiding my face in my knees as I wrapped my arms around my self, one hand still holding the dust, the other, longing.


	3. Chapter 3

I spent the rest of that day curled up in a ball, hoping, wishing, that all I had seen and heard, was a dream. Deep down I knew it wasn't though, it had all been to real, to _actual_ to be fake. I was stuck in 1773 with no way back. Achilles seemed to understand my distress and instructed Connor to assist me to a room where I could recuperate. "She's in shock," I heard him say, "She needs time to come to terms with what she has seen." So Connor gently took my arm, leading me up the stairs to an unused room where I curled up on the bed and shut my eyes, trying to block out the world around me. I stayed there as the sun set, finally falling in to sleep as the room around me darkened.

I awoke the next morning just before dawn, as old habit dictated, to an unfamiliar room and silence. The absence of my cramped computer table and Skyler's snoring reminding me of where I was. I probably would have kept laying there if my stomach hadn't growled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten anything since coming to this place. I doubted either of the men would be awake at this time, so I carefully snuck out of the room, making my way down the stairs to find the kitchen. Thankfully, the kitchen was right by the stair case, saving me from trying to scour the house in search for it. Nabbing two apples from a bowl, I crept out the back door to watch the sun rise.

I hadn't noticed it before, when Connor lead me to the manor, but the house sat near a cliff face over looking a large body of water, that could have very well been the ocean. I stood there a moment, just staring at the sight of it all, at the beauty and the purity of it, before I walked over to the edge and sat down. I never really got to enjoy sunrises' back at the ranch, I was always to busy tending to things, to busy working to just stop and watch the world wake up. Despite the beauty of this place I wanted to go back home. I wanted to see Skyler, William, Cody, Tom and everyone else at the ranch again. I want my family, I wanted-

_NO. _

A voice in my head shouted at me. _No, you can't go back remember? You're here, in 1773 and that's not going to change any time soon. So stop singing 'woe is me' to the world cuz it ain't listening, instead, pick up your sorry ass and do something HERE! _I frowned slightly at my inner drill Sergeant, wondering where the hell he came from, but I suppose however my mind conjured him up, he was needed. I _had_ just spent nearly the last twenty four hours wallowing in my own self pity. It needed to stop. I wasn't going to get anywhere by crying for what was, I needed to focus on what _is_.

It was then that heard the sound of a door close. Twisting around form where I sat, I saw Connor standing just outside the door way, slowly looking around the area before spotting me. I waved once I knew he saw me, and he made his way over to where I sat.

"Hello," He said standing a respectful distance away from me. He wasn't dressed the same as he was the previous day, no off white coat and he wasn't bedecked in weapons. No, he wore a simple white buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a pair of dark blue pants.

"Hey," I responded as he sat down a little more then an arms length away from me, hanging his feet off the cliff as I was.

"What brings you out here?" He asked me once he was settled. Gesturing towards the horizon I responded,

"The sunrise. I wake up with it nearly every morning, but I've never really stopped to appreciate it. It's beautiful." I paused for a moment, looking around Davenport in the morning light, seeing the dew sparkle on the grass and the roof of the barn. Mist hovered around the water below, casting the ship that sat down there in to an eerie, ghostly light.

"This place is beautiful." I glanced over at Connor to see a slight smile tug at the corner of his mouth,

"It is."

Silence stretched between us for a moment as I stared at the half eaten apple in my hands, before finally looking back over at him,

"I need to apologize." He frowned as he looked over at me,

"Why?"

I sighed, " You, Diana and even Achilles have been nothing but kind to me, and how do I show my gratitude? By throwing a hissy fit over nearly everything people tell me." I looked away from him and down to my hands, fiddling with the apple.

"It's childish and rude, y'all have been just trying to help me." I said with a shake of my head. Silence thickened the air for a few moments, before Connor finally spoke up.

"Your distress is understandable. You did not come here of your own free will, you were taken." I looked back over at him as he continued, "We can help you return home, if you wish."

I smiled ruefully at him,

"As much as I would love that, you can't help me. I can't leave, Zeus made that very clear."

Connor gave me a look of slight confusion then,

"Zeus?"

I grimaced, _he's never going to believe me._ "uh, yeah. That's what uh... what I called the guy in the... in the orb." I felt heat rise to my cheeks as I looked away from him. _Nice Miri, now you've proved you're a nutter._ But when I looked back at him, he didn't look at me as if I were crazy, he just seemed contemplative.

"Were you in a place called the Nexus?" He finally asked. I blinked at him,

"Yeah, he called it that if I remember right... how did-"

"I was once there, a long time ago. That is where I was told to seek the symbol." I quirked an eye brow at him then,

"What is it about this symbol that makes it so special?" I asked him. Connor sat up a bit straighter, glancing sideways back towards the manor before answering me.

"Perhaps that would be best answered in side, come." He said as he stood up, before offering me a hand. I took it, letting him help me to my feet before he turned and lead the way back to the manor.

Achilles was wake when we walked in, beckoning us in to the kitchen. He seemed a tad surprised when he saw me, but quickly recovered.

"Good morning Connor, Almira. Breakfast is ready." He said, gesturing to a few bowls of gruel sitting on the table.

"Almira wishes to know about the symbol." Connor stated as we came to take our seats. Achilles sighed as he looked over at me, "I remember what you told me yesterday child, that the artifact 'wanted you to learn the symbol' hm? Well then, I will tell you all about us and our age old struggle, _after_ breakfast."

I chuckled and agreed, tucking in to the gruel even though I really didn't like the stuff, it was at least bearable though. Once we were finished eating I helped with the dishes, before the lot of us settled in to (what I called) the lounge room. It was there that I learned of the Assassins, of their dealings with "the ones who came before" and of the Templars, who sought to use the ancient's knowledge to conquer and control. The Templars and Assassins had apparently been fighting a war with each other through out the centuries, and from the sounds of it, the Assassins were barely holding together.

We sat in silence after Achilles finished his history lesson. I wasn't sure what to make of all of it. It all just seemed so fanciful. I also wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with this information once I had it. "Zeus" wanted me to learn what the symbol meant, but he failed to tell me what I was supposed to do after I did. Not being able to take the men's stares any longer I stood,

"Thank you Achilles, that answers one of my questions at lest." I said with a slight nod as I shuffled in place for a second.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to take a walk, clear my head." Achilles nodded, looking as if he wanted to say something, but holding back. I left the room in search for my boots, hearing Connor and Achilles discuss something I didn't catch. Finding and donning my footwear, I headed out the door. The late summer sun beat down on me as I walked along the road, reminding me I had left my hat back at the manor. I didn't want to go back for it though, no I just wanted to continue my march to Only-God-Knows-Where.

I was trying to remember my conversation with "Zeus", what he said, what he wanted from me, as I walked. _Guide and be guided,_ he had told me, _Teach and learn, here with them._ Of course, there was a bunch of gibberish about "Beginnings" too, I still wasn't sure how it all tied together. Grumpily, I turned off the road and in to the forest, going a ways before reaching a large tree that seemed to scream "CLIMB ME". So I did, scaling the thing till I reached a comfortable height, (about mid way up) before I straddled a large branch and sat with my back against the trunk.

_Okay,_ I thought, _Lets start with what I do know. One; the beginning -whatever it is- starts here, in 1773. Two; it also involves Connor and Achilles, more specificity I'm supposed to "learn" from them._ Alright that _is_ a start. _So, history flunker, what happens in 1773?_ Dammit I was awful with dates... lets see, what happens in America in 1773...

"Oh, shit... the Revolutionary War."

I wasn't sure of the exact date, but it did happen around this time. I wondered if that was what the "beginning" was, the beginning of a country. If that was the case, how did I fit in? The Revolutionary War was lead by men, fought by men, and won by men _and_ women. Sure, women helped out, but in the kitchen, in the fields and infirmary. I, however, was mediocre at best in the fields. My goals in the kitchen? one, don't burn it down, two, make food edible. Taste is optional. The field? DON'T KILL THE PLANTS. Ditto for the infirmary. _I'd make a horrible housewife. _I thought. Just as well I suppose, my luck with men was about the same as my luck in the kitchen, what I didn't accidentally destroy, came out dull and tasteless. I'd given up trying awhile back, _ never could get past date number two with anyone..._

There had to be something I could do though, there was no way I was going to sit on the side lines and simply watch the war go by. I couldn't pass my self off as a boy and join the army, or militia or whatever they had, I was just to _shapely_ for it. Even if I succeed in fooling them, the jig would be up as soon as I got injured. There had to be some way for me to join the fight, to help the cause, even if I had to become some sort of weird vigilante to do it, running around and-

Wait, there was a way.

_Zeus you cleaver bastard, you KNEW I'd come to this conclusion didn't you?_ I mentally growled at the wind, narrowing my eyes slightly at the imaginary man, before nearly leaping out of the tree in haste. I rushed back through the forest to the road, in a hurry to return to the manor before I changed my mind. I was nearly out of breath when I finally reached the house, bursting through the front door with more vigor then called for.

"ACHILLES! CONNOR!"

I shouted as I started glancing in to rooms for the two, but the search was ended when Connor came out of the kitchen area, a look of concern on his face.

" What is wrong?"

He asked as he stalked towards me, now dressed as he was the day before. By the time he reached me I could see Achilles rounding the corner from the kitchen as well.

"I've made a decision." I sated, glancing between the men. Achilles sighed as he came to a stop in front of me, giving me a knowing look from under his hat.

"I suspected as much, out with it then..."

"I want to become an Assassin."


	4. Chapter 4

I'm prone to rash decisions.

Whats worse is I usually can't be reasoned out of them, not until its too late. Of course, the fact that nearly every hasty choice I've made, has resulted in a positive out come, didn't help in dissuading me ether. As Connor effortlessly flipped me over his shoulder and in to the dirt at his feet, I was beginning to think that joining the Assassins might _not_ be one of those "positive" times.

"Ughh, I think you're getting faster..." I groaned at him from the dirt. He looked down at me, hair slightly tousled from the first four times he pulled the same maneuver on me.

"You are being to predictable." He chided as he offered a hand to me, I took it, not even bothering to try and dust my self off as I stood. Connors' been trouncing me for the past six days (or maybe five and a half would be more accurate), ever since I asked (or near on demanded) to become an Assassin. Achilles had questioned my decision, rightfully so, and I spent the rest of that day trying to justify it to him. I think in the end though, that the questions were less for his benefit, and more for my own. Like, it was as if Achilles want _me_ to be sure, absolutely sure, that I wanted to become an Assassin.

Which I wasn't, not really.

"Oh, how so?" I asked him as I tried to stretch the soreness from my back. The man was trying to teach me the choker hold, something non-lethal and silent. Or supposed to be, anyway.

"I can hear your approach, you are also placing a hand on my shoulder before you loop your arm around. You need to be quieter, and simplify your actions. here turn around-" Connor gave my shoulder a nudge as I turned to put my back to him.

"You need to come up to your targets quietly, and quickly-" Faster then I could of blinked he snapped his arm around my neck in to a choker hold, his other hand clamping over my mouth.

"-subdue them." He wasn't actually choking me, but it had surprised me enough for me to grab hold of his arm, an automatic reaction if some one is trying to choke you. As he held me there in the crook of his arm, I realized the flaw in his teaching that was hindering me so. I fully understood what he wanted me to do, the only thing was, I wasn't physically able to do it. Connor offered no resistance as I pried his hand away from my mouth,

" Wait, hang on, I think I know whats wrong." He released his hold on me, letting me turn to face him, "Under normal circumstances your method would work, but we've both seemed to of overlooked something that has turned this in to an _abnormal_ circumstance." Connor frowned quizzically at me, as I just stood there waiting for him to come to the realization him self. He didn't.

"What do you mean? How is this abnormal?"

I sighed as I held a hand up horizontally to my head, "I'm several inches shorter Connor, I think what you're hearing is me _hopping_, because if I don't-" I circled around Connor so I could demonstrate, reaching up and around his neck (_without_ hopping and _without_ standing on my toes) I was only able to bring my forearm to his throat. I fruitlessly tried crawling my fingers across his collarbone to try and bring my elbow in to the proper position, with no luck.

"I won't... be able... to... reach..." I groaned as I continued to try and stretch my arm up and around the significantly taller man. I heard an amused huff of air come from him as he pulled my arm away, turning around to face me with the smallest of smirks tugging at the corner of his mouth. _Well I'm glad someone's amused._ I thought as I looked at him.

For the few days I had been here, I could tell that Connor wasn't exactly a cheerful man. I'm not saying he was unpleasant to be around, just that he wasn't as lighthearted as I was, which may or may not have been a point of annoyance to the two men I currently found my self living with. Achilles I could understand for being as reclusive and somber as he was, after all, his wife and son were buried just out side his door. Connor on the other hand, I wasn't sure what made him quite so stoic, or reserved. I wondered if he had a loved one's gravestone some where, or if it had something to do with the name he shared on one of the gravestones by the manor. Whatever the origins of his taciturn ways, it was nice to see him smile, even if it was the slightest sliver of one.

"Perhaps there are other ways you could go about incapacitating a target." Connor said as the upward twitch of his mouth was chased away by concentration. We spent the next two hours going through maneuvers, trying to figure out which ones worked with my restrictions, what modifications could be done to make them work and so on. By the time Connor and I finished the lesson, the sun had risen to about mid day, giving off just enough late summer heat to drench us in our own sweat. The baggy, borrowed shirt I wore, clung to me uncomfortably as we walked back to the manor. And not for the first time that day, did I try to subtlety hitch my _trousers_ back up from an uncomfortably low position on my hips.

Since I was dropped here with out a chance to pack, Diana and Connor had been kind enough to loan me a couple outfits. I wore an old pare of Connors trousers, along with an old shirt of his, during our training sessions, while Diana's dress' where reserved for less... physically demanding activities. Like sitting... and standing...

"You did well today, you have a natural fighters instinct." Connor said, looking over at me approvingly as we started to walked back to the manor. For some reason I felt bashful under his stare and quickly looked away from him.

"Well, I suppose I had a bit of a head start on hand to hand before I came here." I muttered at my boots.

"You were learning how to fight?" he asked. I turned back to look at him and gave a sheepish shrug.

"I wasn't trying to learn how to fight per se, more like trying to make sure my buddy's face didn't get smashed in." He gave me a quizzical look, clearly waiting for an explanation. I gave another shrug,

"The boys at the ranch were a rowdy bunch, we'd usually get in to scraps with each other, but it was all friendly." Connor looked skeptical at the prospect, but said nothing as I continued.

"The true trouble would happen when we'd go in to town for a drink. While the lot of us liked to have a good time, we usually tried to tone it down if we were in a public place. The only one who couldn't seem to do that, was my pal Skyler." I chuckled a little as I continued,

"He would get in to the worst sort of trouble," I felt the grin that had been plastered on my face begin to wilt, "But I was always there to get him out again." I felt a brief pang of homesickness and worry, _Skylers' a big boy,_ I told my self, _He'll be fine without you._ That thought hurt more then it helped, but I shook it off. Now was not the time for moping.

So I turned back to Connor and tried my best to keep smiling, "Anyway, that was my uh, 'introduction' to hand to hand. A smack to the face and a boot to the gut." We reached the manor door then, where in side we found Achilles waiting for us in the hallway. Besides the lessons in fighting, Achilles was teaching me lessons for the brain,(philosophy, language, and few other things.) a lot of which I already knew (yay for modern schooling). He came to the conclusion in the fist few days that he could teach me little in these subjects, and instead focused on teaching me about the Assassins and Templars.

"There you are," the old man intoned, "I've decided to make a trip into town, and the two of you are coming with me." He stated, gesturing for us to follow him further in to the house.

" the house needs a few minor things, the horses need a blacksmith, and you Almira," Achilles turned slightly to point at me, "need your own cloths. You look like an animated pile of rags." He grumbled as he continued to limp down the hall. I chuckled lightly at the jib, fully agreeing with it, as the old man continued

"Since it's so late in the day, we will have to stay the night in Boston, so go and clean your selves up, I will assure everything else is ready. Although Connor," Achilles said as Connor and I begun to turn away towards the stairs, "I want to see you down stairs for a moment."

"Of course." Connor turned back to the old man and I continued to make my way to my room, taking the stairs two at a time.

If there was one thing I missed more then home, it was daily showers. "Farm girl" I my have been, but dammit I'm a _clean_ one. Sure I could take baths, but I would have to not only take time to fill up a tub - _by hand -_ but I would also have to empty that tub - _by hand_ - once I was finished. Getting really clean around here took a lot of work and time. There was, at least, wash pans. Wash pans weren't as nice as showers or baths, but they provided enough water to get most of the dirt off. So I cleaned off what I could and dressed in some clean cloths. I figured that Achilles might appreciate it if I didn't wear the ill fitting shirt and trousers, Just so I wouldn't look like some stray they found and took pity on. (although I suppose that wasn't far from the truth.) so I opted instead to wear one of Diana's borrowed dresses.

I fumbled with the bodice for a moment, before I finally figured out how to lace the damn thing, and could move on to my hair. Which was a mess (but that's usual). I think it took me longer to comb through the birds nest on my head, then it had to wash and get dressed. By the time I was finally twisting it in to an organized knot at the back of my head, I heard a knock at the bed room door.

"Almira?" Came Connor's muffled voice. "we are ready to go, is every thing all right?" _crap_...

"Yes!" I shouted back as I begun to rush around the room, grabbing a clean shirt and trousers for sleeping, stuffing them all in to a small bag.

" I'm so sorry!" I said as I opened the door and scuttled out of my room, nearly slamming my skirt in the door in my haste. "I've _never_ taken this long to get ready for anything I-" I stopped mid sentence when I turned around to see Connor, looking at me with a scrutinizing gaze. I immediately begun to panic,

"What? What is it? Am I wearing some thing backwards? In side out? Is it the bodice? It's the bodice isn't it?" I babbled as I looked down to examine the thing in question, then back at him. He suddenly seemed flustered,

"No, no, it is not... It is not any thing like that it..." He sighed and winced slightly, " I just did not expect to see you dressed as you are. You look... uh... nice." Connor said with a nod.

"Oh... Thank you." I mumbled. An awkward silence stretched between us for a moment before Connor cleared his throat and gestured towards the stairs.

"We should go, Achilles is waiting for us." I agreed, hurriedly going down the stairs and out the door, spotting Achilles and the carriage just in front of the manor.

"There you are child, are you ready to go?" the old man said from his perch in the drivers seat. Looking up at him I nodded,

"Yes, I'm sorry I took so long... I had trouble getting dressed." I shrugged as he chuckled slightly before patting the side of the carriage.

"Get in then, we best be off."

I fumbled a little trying to get in to the carriage, the skirts of the dress making normal movements cumbersome, but after a moment I was finally able to collect my self and climb in. Connor hopped in with relative ease shortly after me, unknowingly showing off his unhindered state as he took the seat across form me.

The two of us were quiet most of the ride, just watching the world go by, listening to nothing but the squeaking of the wheels, and the steady _clip clop_ of the horses hooves. I snuck a few glances at Connor during the silence, sitting comfortably in the seat across from me, staring out the opposite window. I was curios about the man who lounged opposite of me, legs semi stretched out in front of him as he leaned against the carriage wall. I wondered what made him join the Assassins, where his family was, and what he was doing before he came to Achilles. I also wondered if he was as curios about me as I was of him.

I hadn't told them much about me, only that I came from place far north west of Massachusetts, and was working on a small cattle ranch before the Powers-That-Apparently-Be decided to bring me here. I just left out the time travel bit. I hadn't really spoken of my family, and little of the ranch during the few days I had been here, but in that time, neither man had said a peep about anyone outside of there "brotherhood". Well, I suppose I could try and see if I could get at least one of my questions answered.

"Connor, if I might ask, what made you want to join the Assassins?" I asked a little quietly. He turned and looked at me, blinking his dark brown eyes in surprise as he straightened in his seat. He was silent for a moment, making me think I might of asked something to personal, before he finally spoke,

"There was a crystal, much like yours, in my village that belonged to the Clan Mother. The Clan Mother was explaining to me why our village remained neutral, why we did not join with the other clans and fight. It was then that she gave me the crystal, and I spoke to a spirit in the nexus. She told me that if I stayed in the village, that men would come to drive my people off our land, but if I sought this symbol-" he said as he pointed to the tear drop shape on his bracer, "and learned from those who wielded it, then I could save my people."

I sat there for a moment, just staring at him. I would have been angry to learn that someone was planing to run my family out of there homes, and of course I would have taken action against it, but Connor seemed to have a certain fire in his eyes when he spoke of a possible attack. I felt my brow furrow slightly as I cocked my head to the side,

"Has anyone tried before?" I asked. Connor sighed as he leaned his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together as he did so. He was quiet for a moment before he begun speaking again,

"When I was five, men came to my village – Templars – and burned half of it to the ground because they could not find what they sought. My mother died in the fires that day." I winced. I couldn't really imagine what it would be like to lose a parent that way, or anyone really. I understood why he would be so eager to keep it from happening again.

"Oh Connor... I'm so sorry." I didn't know what else to say to that, I wasn't sure there really was anything else I _could_ say to that. Connor sat across from me seemingly lost in thought, before he straightened up in his seat,

"Have you ever been to Boston?" He suddenly asked, catching me a bit off guard with the change of subject.

"Uh, no, I haven't. I've actually never been this far east before." It was the truth, when ever I traveled away from home it was almost always westward. I cocked my head at the man across from me, "Why do you ask?"

"I think you will like it, it is a... captivating place. " He said with a light smile on his face. I sort of doubted his statement, never really being one for cities, but I decided to humor him. Who knows, I _just_ might actually like old Boston.

Okay I liked Boston. I hadn't even traveled beyond the blacksmiths shop and I already found the city charming. While Achilles and Connor sorted out boarding and shoeing for the horses, storage for the carriage, and rooms at the Inn, I was left to wander. As I stood out side the blacksmiths shop, I watched the people scurry about there business, floating in and out of shops and conversing in small groups on the sides of the cobble stone road. I had to keep reminding my self that this was in fact 1773, and not some over-the-top reenactment of the time period.

"Well?" came Connor's voice from behind me. I spun around to give him a slight glare for sneaking up on me, even though I should have been used to it by now. The man had a talent for being able to move silently, a necessity I suppose if your occupation is as an Assassin.

"Hmm?" I hummed inquisitively as he moved to stand beside me. Connor had flipped up the hood on his robes, obscuring half his face as he nodded to the city before him.

"Boston, what do you think of it?"

"Oh," I looked from him back to the scene before me. "Fascinating. It's all so very... different."

"Different? How so?"

"it's ah, bigger, then what I'm used to." I said with a nod, which – again - was the truth, I came from a small town, the likes of which only had one stop light. "also there's a lot more people, was never this crowded back at my home town." Connor nodded sightly at my words,

" I thought this city was incredible the first time I arrived," he said, watching the city go about it's business for a moment before continuing, " I suppose it still is, in its own way, but much of the charm it once held has diminished." I cocked an eye brow at his statement, turning my head to face him.

"What happened to change your mind?"

Connor glanced at me before looking back to the city, "I was accused of murder."

I blinked, feeling my other eye brow shoot up in surprise as I looked at the man next to me, "Murder? Did you kill someone?"

Connor slowly looked back to me with an expression of incredulousness on his face. Okay, yeah, I suppose that was a dumb thing to ask (again, _Assassin_). He stared at me for a second before he decided to answer;

"Yes, I did. I was trying to prevent the Templars from carrying out one of their schemes," He looked away from me and sighed, "But I was unsuccessful." He went silent for a moment, but before I could inquire further he turned towards me, gesturing to the road as he did so.

"Achilles has requested that I escort you to the tailors, come." Connor said as he stepped out on to the road, glancing back once to make sure I was following.

"What happened? ...If I might ask?" I said as I trotted up next to him, doing my utmost to keep up with his long, free strides. _Damn skirts_.

"About three years ago, there was a riot at the Custom House." He began, glancing at me for a moment, before slowing down to a pace that was less of a struggle for me. " the colonist were angry, taunting the British soldiers to fire at them if they dared, but to the soldiers credit, they did not. Not until the Templars intervened." Connor bit out the last sentence as we turned down another street, some what smaller then the one we were just on, but no less busy. I quirked a brow at him, but it went unnoticed as he continued,

"Achilles and I spotted a known Templar speaking to an accomplice of his. The Templar sent the man away to do who-knows-what, so Achilles instructed me to follow him. I trailed the man to a near by rooftop, where he prepared to fire in to the crowd, or the British soldiers." Connor said with a shrug, "Either way he had to be stopped. Unfortunately he was not the only one trying to escalate things. Another Templar, to far away from me to stop him, fired his pistol." He turned his hood to look at me, "And the British soldiers were soon to follow, taking the shot as a signal to fire in to the crowd. They spotted me on the rooftop then, believing me to be the catalyst to the event, and soon the entire city guard was trying to hunt me down."

I quirked an eye brow at him, "Clearly they didn't get you. How did you escape?" I asked, cocking my head to one side.

"An acquaintance of Achilles showed me how to dissuade the guards." He said as he slowly came to a stop, pulling out a small leather sack that he then gave to me. The bag was heavier then it looked, jingling slightly as he set it in my hands, _must be coins_.

"There are things I must attend to," Connor said before gesturing to the shop we stopped in front of. I hadn't noticed before, but we had apparently arrived at the tailors. "the funds should be sufficient for you to get a few pairs of cloths, when you are finished here you can meet Achilles back at the Inn. Do you remember the way?"

I looked back in the direction we came from, truthfully not really recalling much of the trek here. I was to engrossed in Connors tail to pay much attention to my surroundings. Looking back to him I nodded anyway,

"I will find my way." I said, confident in my sense of direction to lead me back. He stared at me for a moment, before he simply dipped his head in acknowledgment,

"Then I will meet you there." He said as he turned away from me, quickly weaving through the crowd and across the street to disappear down an ally way.

"Oookay..." I muttered, slightly perplexed at Connors abrupt departure, but shrugged it off as I turned and made my way to the shops entrance. I found my self pausing though, hand hovering over the door knob to the shop, feeling slightly scared about entering the establishment. It was silly really, I shouldn't of been intimidated at the thought of taking a simple shopping trip, but I was. Actually, that might have been it, this really wasn't a normal shopping trip, not for me anyway. Things were different here, strange, and foreign. I couldn't just walk in here, pick out a few pairs of cloths and be on my marry way, it didn't work like that. In fact I wasn't really sure how it worked. _You know how you can fix that?_ Came a rather sassy voice in my head, _ you can grow a pair and find out for your self..._

I sighed. The Voices never said anything kind.

However, it was right, I did need to stop being such a scared little bunny about this place. So I straightened my back and walked in to the shop. The bell over the door announced my entrance, causing the shopkeeper to look up from his work. He smiled a well practiced, falsely friendly, smile as he came around the counter.

"Welcome miss! Is there anything I can assist you with today?" the tall, thin, tailor chirped as he walked up to me.

"Yes actually," I said as I glanced around the tinny shop. There were a few busts in here, some adorned with half made shirts and dresses, while others looked completely finished. A couple bolts of fabric were laid out on a table, next to an old fashioned sowing machine that looked shiny and new. I looked back to the beanstalk of a man, who stood gazing down his beak like nose at me,

"I need a few pairs of shirts and pants." the false smile on the mans face faltered a bit,

"Pants, miss?" He said to me, most likely braking the blinks-per-second record. I frowned at him for a moment, wondering what had flustered him so, till I remembered.

" OH! Trousers! I meant trousers!" I nearly shouted in my haste, "Sorry its uh... Its been an... interesting day." I added with a shrug, trying to cover up my slip up. The stork like shopkeeper seemed to buy my simple story, nodding understandingly and gesturing for me to come further in to the shop.

"Of course miss, of course. Now the cloths, they for a husband? Brother? Father? And would you happen to know there measurements? I have a few pre-made shirts and trousers here." the man said, indicating neatly folded shirts, trousers and other garments on shelves pushed up against the far wall.

"Um, no, the cloths are actually for me." I said to him. He started blinking again.

"For you, miss? That doesn't seem, uh" he stammered before I held up a hand. It appeared I would have to concoct a story to pacify the man.

"Yes, for me. My... uncle... is short on workers at his farm, so he has put me to work to help 'earn my keep'" I said trying to sound peeved at the idea. "And I've _tried_ working in my dresses, but I've torn two already and just yesterday I tripped over the horse's trough and landed face first in to a pile of manure, and to top it off,-" I added, probably laying it on a little thick, but judging by his facial expression, he was buying my fake tale of woe. "-My skirts had completely flipped over my head! I've been the laughing stock of the house ever since! I will not risk a repeat offense, so shirts and trousers it is, at least until I can convince my uncle that I am not suited for such tasks."

The stork of a man gave me a knowing nod before leading me off to take my measurements, saying that it would only take a few minor adjustments to fit the cloths to me. The process didn't take long, and I was soon confronted by another avenue of knowledge that was different in this time period.

Currency.

The tailor (who's name turned out to be Darcy) had asked for a down payment on the cloths, and I -not knowing the worth of the different sized and minted coins in the bag- simply emptied half the bag in my hand and held it out to him. I again, cooked up an on-the-spot excuse, this time for why I didn't know the value of the coins, and Darcy again, bought in to my fib. The man took two of the coins from my out stretched hand, informing me that the cloths should be ready by mid day tomorrow, before wishing me a good afternoon as I exited the shop.

_That wasn't so bad now, was it?_ The sassy voice was back, taunting me as I turned in the direction Connor and I originally came from. Again, it was right, the ordeal wasn't as bad as I had originally thought. I really needed stop dreading this whole thing so much, if I just relaxed a bit I would probably have an easier time blending in.

By this time, the streets were beginning to thin out in the late afternoon-early evening sun, people finishing up there shopping and what not before they went home for the day. It should have been my clue to hurry to the Inn, but no, I had to just mosey on down the road, taking in the sights.

I had paused in my saunter back to the Inn, staring at the sight of a hog walking down the street, when out of no where I was tackled to the ground by a foul-smelling pile of rags. Instinctively I had thrust my hands out to brake my fall, letting go of the coin pouch I had been clutching in them, and I that's exactly what the rag pile wanted. A dirt covered hand snatched the bag off the ground before I had even completely finished falling, scurrying off in the direction of an ally way across the street.

"COME BACK HERE!" I screeched, squabbling to my feet and tearing after the stinking, _thieving,_ pile of _filth_. Heads turned, and passers-by jumped out of the way of my quarry and I, no one bothering to stop the cut purse or even attempt to slow him down. The thief was quick, and had the advantage of knowing the city, but I had the stubbornness of a mule, and I was _NOT_ letting him get away with coins. So I chased him, skidding around corners and darting down various ally ways, till the sucker ran right in to a dead end.

He faced me then, breathing heavily from the chase he gave, small beads of sweat streaking down his face accenting how dirty it was. I would have felt sorry for the boy (for that was what he was, a boy. He could be no older then sixteen.) it was obvious that he was homeless, most likely orphaned as well, and in desperate need of help. I would have let him have a few coins if he had given up then, so he could at least maybe get some food, but the _look_ he gave me.

The boy was grinning, like a cat staring down a trapped mouse, displaying plaque covered, crooked teeth. Chuckling he shook his head at me,

"Ya shouldn'ta followed me missy."

"Cuz our boy lead you straight in to our territory..." came a cocky unfamiliar voice behind me. _Balls..._

I turned around to face the speaker, who stood a few paces away flanked by three of his cronies. The speaker looked older then the boy who stole the coins, a little closer to my age in fact, late teens to early twenties. He wore a slightly tattered tri-cornered hat, that sat on his head at an angle, adding to his crooked look with a slanted smile that he flashed at me.

"Whats a pretty thing like you do'n chasing poor little Joe for eh?" he drawled, his eyes roving down from my face then back up, his cocky grin growing more lecherous as he did so. I felt my lip curl slightly at his gaze, taking a few steps away from him as he slowly started to saunter towards me.

"He has something that doesn't belong to him." I growled at the crooked man, glancing over my shoulder at "Joe" who was still grinning, swinging the coin purse in his hands. "And I would really like it back." I said glaring at the kid. He just chuckled.

"Aw now we can't be do'n that, now can we boys?" the leader of the five said, causing the rest of the boys to respond with grunts and snickerings of "No sir," "Not a chance". The leader nodded his head, agreeing with his underlings statements before looking back at me,

"But I'll tell ya what we will do. We'll let ya leave here all safe and sound, so longs as you don't call the guards, and-" he licked his lips as he stepped closer to me, looking me up and down again, "If ya let me have a peek under those pretty skirts of yours." He chuckled, the rest of them joining him.

I sighed, sneering at the lecher in front of me, who seemed to be waiting for an answer.

_Okay, I hate Boston_.

I thought about screaming for help, but considering how attentive people had been during the chase, I doubted that would be very beneficial. So, I was left with one option, changing my sneer to a sardonic grin I replied,

"Ooh, you want a peek?" and proceeded to yank my skirts clear up to my knees. For about point two seconds the leader stood gawking at my legs, right before my newly unencumbered boot met his groin. Before the leader even hit the ground I rounded on a stunned looking Joe, delivering an upper cut that sent him reeling and the coin bag flying.

By this time one of the leaders cronies was able to gather his senses and go on the attack, grabbing my arm in an attempt to restrain me. Spinning around I socked him in the jaw, causing him to lurch backwards tripping over the leaders body who was still moaning on the ground. I was able to stay on my feet as the kid fell over, wrenching my wrist from his grasp as he tumbled, causing a little bit of my sleeve to tear. Joe was on his feet by then, bellowing as he came charging at me. This of course announced his intention, allowing me to easily doge his mad rush to tackle me. Joe was able to miss tripping over his leader, but couldn't stop him self from toppling the only member of the group that hadn't taken a swing at me.

By now the leader had over come most of the pain, lurching up from the ground to try and tackle my legs. He was successful in nabbing one, causing me to stumble, falling on to my back side. The leader wasted no time in crawling his way up my body, ignoring the kicks I was trying to deliver to him as he did so. He was able to pin one of my hands next to my head, but didn't bother restraining the other one as he raised his fist to strike. With my free hand I was able to deflect the brunt of the blow, but I wasn't fast enough to avert the strike entirely. His fist glanced the side of my mouth, causing me to bite my tongue a little bit and my lip to split open.

I didn't give him a chance to try again though, wrapping my legs around his waist I rolled us over, quickly jumping to my feet, and jerking my arm from his grasp as I did so. The leader seemed a little stunned as he laid there for a moment, before he scrambled to his feet to come at me with a shout grabbing me around my waist. I was able to divert his tackle in to a near by wall, knocking the wind out of me but knocking the senses out of him, seeing as he smacked in to it face first. He backed off clutching his head, which gave me the opportunity to spin him around and quite literally kick him the ass.

His comrades caught him as he stumbled in to them, helping him keep his feet as he staggered slightly, still stunned from running in to the wall. There was a pause then, as the lot of them faced me with varying looks of shock, pain, and from the leader, out right loathing. Blood dripped in to his eye as he glowered at me,

"You bitch..." he growled wiping away the blood. He looked around him self then, noticing right about the same time I did, that I was a cornered rat. The leader grinned smugishly at me,

"Well, well... seems the little spitfire is cornered," he chortled, gesturing to the others around him, "And out numbered. You surprised us before with your tricks, but now we're ready for ya." he said as they started forward. the boy's didn't seem that threatened by me now, some grinning while others cracked there knuckles at me in intimidation attempts. It didn't last long though, they hadn't taken two steps forward when a sudden, solid sounding _thud_ came from behind me, causing them to stop dead in their tracks. I jumped and spun around at the sound, raising a fist to strike, but froze when I recognized who it was,

"Connor?"

He ignored me for the moment, instead focusing solely on the thieves in front of him, pulling out his tomahawk and activating his hidden blade as he made his way forward. The gang bolted then, tripping over each other in their attempts to flee, with shouts of "Run!" "forget this!" "I like my hide!" before Connor could even come within striking distance of them. He stood there a moment, just watching as the last of the thieves disappeared around the corner before sheathing his weapons and turning back to me.

"What are you doing here?" Connor said, puzzlement evident in his voice as he frowned at me from under his hood.

"Oh, I got done at the shop early and I thought 'Hey,-'" I chirped shrugging my shoulders a bit, "'you know what would complete my experience of this town? Getting mugged.'" I ended, rolling my eyes and planting my hands on my hips. Connor's frown deepened, apparently my sarcasm wasn't appreciated.

"Look, I was just on my way back to the Inn when one of those boys nabbed the coin pouch you gave me. So... I chased him to get it back, and then... things got interesting." I sighed looking away from him and to the ground, trying to find the troublesome bag. Spotting it, I scooped it up, handing it to Connor,

"Can we just get to the Inn?" I said, dabbing at the corner of my mouth with my finger, smearing the blood there. I winced when I looked at my hand, seeing the end of my finger covered in blood. _Well I'm just a fine mess aren't I?_

Connor took a half step closer to me when I pulled my hand away, cocking his his head a little and extending his own hand,

"Are you all right?"

I waved him off, frowning slightly as I made my way out of the dead-end ally.

"I'm fine Connor. Honestly, if I couldn't take a few hits I wouldn't of joined the order."

Connor sighed slightly as he followed me out, quickly taking the lead back to the Inn. The two of us were quiet for a while, till Connor broke the silence.

"You fight better during our training sessions." he stated rather matter-of-factly, causing me to snort disbelievingly as I rounded on him,

"_OF COURSE_ I fight better during training sessions! BECAUSE I AM NOT WEARING A SKIRT!" I nearly shouted at him, grabbing hand fulls of my skirt and shaking it in emphases. "Unless you're proposing I start wearing a dress to practice in... Honestly, it takes an entirely different kind of... _skill_ to fight in a skirt." I said rather saucily, crossing my arms and glaring at him. He huffed slightly at me,

"Your methods were rather unorthodox." He said ignoring my scowl.

"Pfft... 'unorthodox'-" I scoffed " If I tried any sort of traditional methods I would of ended up flat on my-" _...wait._ I paused for a second, giving his offhanded statement a moment to sink in.

"Were you _watching_ me?!" I said feeling my glower deepen as I slowly came to a stop. He paused mid step, giving me a look that just confirmed my suspicions.

"how long were you just standing there, watching me flail about like over turned turtle?" I squeaked angrily at him.

" I was up on the roof top, when I saw you run in to the ally after the boy. I decided to see how you would handle things." Connor said giving me a miniscule shrug, before the corner of his mouth twitched up ever so slightly. "I suppose you did, in your own way." _Oh balls he saw it all..._ I felt heat rise to my cheeks, and not all of it was anger. I quickly spun away from him, growling through gritted teeth as I did so, resuming my march towards the Inn. I could here Connors soft foot falls as he came after me,

"Almira-"

"UHG! I can't believe you just... ERG! I mean really, oh my GOD Connor-" I stopped suddenly rounding on him again, holding up a splayed hand to his face, causing him to lurch back a bit.

"I've had _five_ full days of training. FIVE." I was nearly shouting again, waving my hand in his face. I probably was over reacting, but at the moment, I didn't care.

"Do you really expect me to be _magically_ fantastic at fighting in _just five days_?! I... Just... ERRGH!" I stomped off again, rounding the bend in the road to _finally_ come in sight of the Inn.

"Almira, that is not what-"

"_Oh_ isn't it?" I growled over my shoulder at him, making a bee line for the Inn.

"No it is _not_." he said sternly, following hot on my heels.

" Well, you're doing a _marvelous_ job of showing it."

"_Almira_..." Connor grabbed my shoulder, halting my progress to the Inn and turning me to face him, "I did not intend to-"

"Connor, quite frankly I don't care what you intended," I bit out, before jerking my shoulder out of his grip and resuming the short walk to the Inn's door. "Because either way, it's insulting." I heard him call after for a fourth time that night, but ignored him as I reached the door.

The place was busy but wasn't overly crowded as I entered, and only a couple patrons looked at my disheveled appearance with alarm. A quick scan of the place allowed me to spot Achilles, sitting in a poorly lit, back corner talking to another man who's face I couldn't see. I immediately stared weaving my way through the tables towards him, at the moment, I wanted nothing more then to clean up and get out of this _damn dress_.

"Almira," Achilles said with a look of surprise as I came up next to the table he was seated at, "what happened? Are you all right?" I sighed and shook my head,

"long story short; trouble, and honestly I'm fine." I sighed again, "Achilles do we have rooms here? I'd really like to clean up." Achilles nodded and began to stand,

"Of course, let me get the Inn keeper."

"No need Achilles, allow me." said the other man at the table, who I hadn't even acknowledged till now. He looked to be in his late thirties or early forties, with brown hair that was pulled back in to a pony tail. His cloths looked a little ragtag, but the man carried him self with a dignified air, like he was proud to be who he was. The man stood, raising his hand to catch the attention of an average looking woman, who had been attending to several other tables. Spotting us the woman nodded, letting us know she'll be right there in a moment, allowing the man time to introduce him self. Turning to me he smiled,

"You must be the new arrival Achilles mentioned, I'm Samuel Adams." the man said with a polite bow of his head. I was rather proud of my self, for not displaying the fact that I was stunned to near silence at meeting one of _America's Founding Fathers_. I smiled at Adams, giving him my best attempt at a curtsy,

"I'm Almira Woodson. Pleasure to meet you."

"Almira, what a lovely name, I- Connor!" Adams' attention was diverted behind me, raising his hand in greeting to the very man I was currently trying to get away from. Connor stepped up beside me, giving Adams a friendly, but distracted, greeting before turning to me. Unfortunately (but thankfully) he didn't get a chance to say anything, before he could get a word out the woman ( who I assumed to be the Inn keepers wife... or daughter, it was hard to tell.) walked up.

"Is their something I can do for you?" She said with the slightest hint of a British accent, smiling politely at Adams. It was Achilles, however, who responded.

"Would you take Almira here to her room? She's had a long day." the woman wrinkled her nose at Achilles, before she turned and asked me to follow her. The rooms Achilles and Connor had procured were up a set of stairs and down a hall that, from the sounds of it, was situated right above the tavern below. She lead me all the way down the hall, stopping at the second to last room on the right.

"I'll bring you some hot water and a towel." she said as she opened the door to the room, letting me step in side.

"Oh, um," I mumbled as I spun around to face her, catching her before she left, "would it be possible for me to borrow a needle and thread?" I said gesturing to my torn sleeve. The woman smiled politely, assuring me she could accommodate me, before disappearing down the hall. The room I was apparently staying in was small, with a cramped but clean looking bed pushed against the wall, and a small dresser and heating stove across from it. There was also a window sporting an _exciting_ view of neighboring roof top, the likes of which seemed to need repair.

It was several minutes later before the woman came back, carrying a small wash pan with a steaming pitcher of water, and a towel over her shoulder. She set the pan, pitcher and towel down on the dresser, pulling out a spool of thread from her apron pocket and adding it to the collection.

"If you need anything else, just let us know." she said as she walked out of the room, not waiting for a response. I thought her abruptness was odd, but brushed it off, currently not really caring. What I did care about, was getting this dress off and cleaning up. I immediately stripped off the dress and put on the shirt and trousers I had brought with me, before going over to the wash pan to take care of my face.

My lip stung a bit as I cleaned it, but really didn't look that bad once all the dirt and blood was gone(my hair was a mess though, even after I let it down and combed though it with my fingers, but that seemed to be a fact of life for me.). By the time I had done all this the room was rather dark, with night settling in and all that. So I set to work, lighting a couple candles and a single lantern by the bed to illuminate the room. After that was all said and done, I set to the task of trying to stitch the dress back together. The tear in the sleeve really wasn't that bad, but it still needed to be fixed, and while my seamstress skills were not something to brag about, I could still mend simple rips. Curling up on the bed, next to the lantern I begun slowly stitching the sleeve back together. However about half way through the process, there came a knock on my door.

"Almira? May I speak with you?"

It was Connor. I sighed, now that I wasn't boiling in embarrassment and anger, I did feel a little regretful over some of the things I said.

"Yeah, come in."

The door slowly opened, reveling a slightly wary Connor, who's hair looked lightly tousled from spending most of the day in his hood. stepping in to the room and closing the door to behind him (but not letting it lach.)He looked at me, standing there awkwardly for a moment, before he finally spoke,

"I... need to apologize." he said, glancing down at his feet. To be honest I really wasn't expecting an apology, not a straight-up one anyway. I expected to wake up tomorrow morning and have a series of awkward, stinted conversations, that would eventually lead to awkward, stinted apologies.

At least this cut to the chase.

"It was not my intention to insult you," Connor said as he looked from his feet back to me, " You have shown much skill in training, and demonstrated your ability when you were in the ally. I should not of made light of it the way I did, and for that I am sorry." He said, shifting his weight from foot to foot, glancing between his toes and me. I sighed, looking away from him and to my hands, currently twisting the half mended dress between them selves.

"I need to apologize too." I mumbled at my lap before looking back up to see Connors confused yet curios face. "I... probably over reacted a bit." I set the sewing aside as I stood, pulling my hair over my shoulder to fidget with it.

"Me getting so up set was mostly due to... embarrassment." Connor looked perplexed for a moment before it seemed to dawn on him.

"Oh..."

"I don't run around in a dress and at the first sign of trouble show a bunch of leg, I-" I rubbed my face to keep from looking at him, feeling heat rise to my ears and cheeks as I tried to explain my self.

"It was just the first thing that popped in to my head when that guy was all like 'lift up your skirt! Give us peek!' I just thought 'what the hell? It'll distract them _and_ free up my boot.' and it did and it worked and... honestly you really can't keep much propriety when fighting in a skirt anyway so why not-"

"Almira." Connor said, placing a hand on my shoulder to stop my ranting and pacing. I hadn't realized I _was_ pacing. I looked at him and sighed.

"Look I'm sorry, really. I was just embarrassed... and apparently I still am. I mean, the reason I was okay with hiking up my skirts in front of them, was because I was planning on kicking there ass' anyway. So-"

"Almira..." Connor interrupted me again, this time with a slightly amused look on his face. " I understand. I also apologize for teasing you on this," He let go of my shoulder to take a step back, " It probably did not help with matters."

"No, not really..." I said, feeling the corner of my mouth twitch up slightly at his expression, "But honestly, I could be a better sport about these things. I mean really Connor," I said shrugging my shoulders and planting my hands on my hips, "you can answer this honestly; you thought it was damn funny when I pulled that stunt and started the fight didn't you?"

He crossed his arms as he leaned back a little, the corner of his mouth inching a little higher as he did so. "I found it... amusing."

I found my self chuckling, as I shook my head at him, the two of us just standing there grinning at each other. After a moment Connor glanced around before looking back to me, idly scratching the back of his neck.

"I should let you get some rest." he said, taking a step towards the door.

"Yeah, I... suppose I should let you get some too." I said a little lamely, my hands returning to my hair to fidget with.

He smiled one of his small smiles at me again as he reach the door, "Good night Almira."

" g'night Connor."

Connor gave me one last nod before he left, shutting the door behind him.

I still wasn't completely confident about being here, or about joining the Assassins. Although if people like Connor were wrapped up in it all, I think I'd probably make it. Maybe this whole time-travel brew-ha-ha wasn't going to be such a bad thing after all.

* * *

AN: Hey everyone! I want to apologize about this chapter taking so long, it was delayed for a number of reasons (one of which is I got really sick. but Im better now!) I also sort of lost my notes on where this chapter was going so it ended up becoming something of a filler chapter, so sorry about that too. Hoepfully the next chapter will be a lot more fun! anyway, thanks for reading The Long Road, I'm really happy that people out there like it :)


	5. Chapter 5 Pt I

I'm really bad with constellations.

I can usually find the big dipper, and some times the little dipper, but that's about it. I enjoy it though, staring at the stars. I never really could see them that well back home, too much light. Here though, here in the darkness before the time of the light bulb I could see them, all of them. Thousands of distant lights sparkling in the sky, their luminescence only dimmed by a stray wisp of cloud and the misting of my breath.

The nights have been growing steadily colder, preparing the world for winter's chill, as is autumn's job I suppose. It's almost like I am not meant to enjoy warm weather, seeing as I was plopped here a little over a month and a half ago at the tail end of summer. I was only able to sort of enjoy a couple weeks of heat, and even then, that time was spent training. Non stop training. All day every day, which only left me "free time" at nights, which of course was supposed to be spent _sleeping._ Yet here I was, wrapped up in a blanket on the balcony, just staring at the night sky. I suppose the reason I did it every night was because of the sense of peace it gave me.

I knew it wouldn't last though. There was a war coming, and it was coming _soon,_ I just didn't know how soon. That's partially why I never complain about training, I needed to be ready for when it _did_ come. Well, that and I actually enjoy the training. I've recently gotten to the point in hand to hand where I've become a slight challenge to Connor, which can be endlessly entertaining. I often feel like a squirrel taunting a bear, a dangerous game to say the least, but it's so damn _fun_.

"_Almira?_"

Connor's voice called softly from inside the house. A second went by before I heard it again, his voice sounding perplexed. I sighed before sitting up and turning back to the balcony door,

"Out here Connor." I called to him through the door. A few seconds went by before the door opened, revealing the outline of Connor, still fully dressed in his Assassin robes.

"Almira?" He asked again, his shadowy outline not budging from the door way. I guess his eyes were still adjusting to the dark.

"Down here, watch your step."

A moment went by before he took a few tentative steps towards me, half way shutting the door behind him.

"What are you doing out here?" he said, stopping a few feet away from me.

"Looking for the Seven Sisters. I know they gotta be around here some where." I said laying back down to stare at the sky.

"the... Seven Sisters?"

I turned my head to look at Connors silhouette, currently to far away for me to make out any detail, but his head was slightly cocked to the side like a quizzical puppy's.

"They're a group of stars, my sister and I had a bit of an obsession of it when we were younger. Evelyn and I would sit out side and just... stare at the night sky for hours looking for them." I giggled slightly at the memory, "Until mom or dad would come out and drag us back inside."

Connor was silent for a moment, before he took a few steps closer and sat down next to me. "You have never mentioned your sister before."

I paused for a moment, feeling a little guilty at his words.

"I suppose I've been trying to avoid remembering my family, so I can avoid missing them." I said, sitting up and curling my legs under me Indian style. "Isn't working though, too many little things remind me them. It's like the harder I try to not remember, the more I actually end up remembering." I sighed, pulling my blanket tighter around my shoulders, trying to stave off the nights chill.

"You should not turn away from such things. Remembering the ones you love can be a strength, not a weakness." He shifted slightly, turning towards me before he continued. "I remember my mother nearly every day, and while I miss her deeply, I draw strength from it, I draw strength from her memory." he lapsed in to silence then, the out line of his head slightly bowed and turned in the direction of his feet, before once again facing me.

" Tell me of your sister, -Evelyn was it?- Tell me of her and your fascination with the stars." He said, gesturing to aforementioned stars above us. I scoffed slightly, not really wanting to tell him of two young girls silliness, but maybe talking about family would help me relieve some of this built up longing I had for them.

"Um, yeah, Evelyn, my older sister by about four years... Anyway, when I was about five, Eve heard the story of the Seven Sisters. The part of the myth she sort of focused on was how the Seven Sisters were immortalized by the Greek god Zeus, who turned them in to stars. I really don't know why Zeus did it, but to two young girls, the thought of being awesome enough to be turned in to stars is an enchanting one to say the least." I giggled slightly as the memories flickered by like someone showing off a bunch of slides.

" During the time of our obsession with this, my mother told us that she was pregnant. Eve and I got so excited, and I not knowing any better _begged_ mom to have a girl. 'Please mom please!' I would say, 'can Eve and I have a sister please? Can we have a sister so we can become stars?'" I chuckled again, putting a hand to my face in slight embarrassment.

"Lucky for her she had a girl, two in fact. Twins. Linette and Layla... By the time they were old enough to understand the concept of constellations, Eve and I had grown out of our obsession the stars. We still taught them about it though, mostly because dad always referred to us as his 'Little Stars'." I lapsed into silence then, looking back up in to the night sky. It had actually been a while since dad had called us Little Stars, I think the last time he did was at Evelyn's wedding during his speech. _"My Little Stars aren't so little any more..." _ he had said to the crowd, making nearly every other woman in the room tear up. That was three years ago.

"I miss being a star..." I mumbled almost inaudibly at my feet, pulling on my blanket again. The silence between Connor and I stretched nearly to the point of uncomfortableness, before he spoke.

" Just because your family cannot see you, does not mean you stopped being part of them." Connor said quietly to me, his silhouette leaning forward slightly as if to try and look me in the eye.

"Think on the stars you love. They do not cease to be stars when morning comes, or when clouds fill the night sky, they are simply out of sight. Stars will always be stars, Almira. Family will always be family."

I found my self just staring at his silhouette for a moment, feeling a smile slowly spread across my face. "So... Are you saying I'm still a star?" I asked him playfully. Connor chuckled slightly, shaking his head as he did so.

"Yes Almira, you are still a star."

We shared a giggle for another moment, before we lapsed back into silence. Perhaps it was time to go back inside.

"Well, I suppose I should get to bed. Don't want to be tossed about like a rag doll because I'm half asleep." I said as I stood up, followed closely by Connor.

"Actually, I wanted to speak to you about tomorrow." He said as we entered the manor. I turned back to him just as he shut the door, now able to make out some of his features in the light if the single, half-burned candle. Connor looked tired, his eyes weren't as alert as usual, and his shoulders drooped slightly. He was an incredibly busy man, always doing something. When not training me he was off doing something else, helping the homesteaders, or down at the docks with Mr. Faulkner, or just _away_. Come to think of it I don't believe I've ever seen him just sit down and relax.

" I will be sailing out at about noon, there are things that require the _Aquila's _presence. It will most likely be a few weeks before I return, so Achilles will take up your training until then."

"Oh..." I said, slightly surprised at the sudden turn of events.

"Is something the matter?" He asked, his head tilting to the side ever so slightly as he looked at me.

"No, no nothing. I just... I'm a little surprised is all." I scrunched my nose up, making a face at my self. "But I suppose I shouldn't be, I mean you have been going down to the docks quite a bit lately, so it's only logical that you've been planing a trip." I said shrugging at him. Connor straightened, pausing for a moment as he looked at me, before a small frown appeared. Before he could say anything however, I chirped,

"Anyway, I should get to bed. Knowing Achilles, he wont much appreciate a tired student." I smiled at Connor, who stood there with his frown for a moment longer, before finally letting it fall and replacing it with a ghost of a smile.

"No, he does not." He said in his usual calm tone, but with a slight hint of humor. I smiled once more at him, before I turned and headed to my room, which was just across the hall.

"Good night Almira." I heard Connor say softly, just as I touched the door knob. I looked back to see that he had taken a few steps towards his own room, pausing next to the staircase as he himself looked back at me.

"G'night Connor," I said, feeling another smile tug at my lips. "and safe sailing. Don't go crashing that ship of yours and leaving me all alone with Achilles._ I'll_ never survive past the first few weeks."

Connor smiled and huffed humorously at that, "I will do my best." he said with a nod as he started to take a step towards his room. "Sleep well."

I nodded back, the smile on my face quirking itself in to a half grin. "You too Connor." I said as I opened the door, getting one last glance of Connors half almost smile before my door closed behind me.

The morning sun glistened on the frost, making the world shine a little for early birds like myself. I had gotten up before Achilles, which was usual, so I simply grabbed a slice of bread (as well as my hat) and scrawled a note for the senior assassin, before heading out the back door. There was a light fog hanging around the docks, but even from this distance I could see the hustle and bustle of the sailors preparing the _Aquila_ for a voyage. I knew Connor was down there with them, it was him leaving the manor that actually woke me this morning. I wasn't going to go down there though, we had basically said our goodbyes the night before, not to mention I would most likely just get in the way. No, I was going to use this free hour or so to do the thing I loved most in this world;

Horse back riding.

The stables currently held four horses, the black gelding and red roan mare were mainly used for the carriage, the other two (a chocolate colored mare and a buttermilk buckskin gelding) were the primary saddle horses. Or I should say the other _one_. Apparently a few days before my "arrival" they had purchased a pair of riding horses – saddles and all – for next to nothing, and soon found out why. The two were buddy sour - never wanting to leave each others side - and to top it all off, the mare was meaner then a junk yard dog. Achilles and Connor weren't sure what to do with them at first, not until I was able to get my hands on the pair. In just the short month I've been able to work with them, the two have nearly completely gotten over their case of buddy sour-ness and the mare... well _I_ can ride her without much trouble.

"Good morning little Birdie!" I cooed to the mare, who nickered happily in greeting before throwing her head up, curling her lips back and smacking them together. It was one of the strangest gestures I had ever seen a horse do, but for what ever reason it was Birdie's sign of a good mood. I chuckled slightly at her display before saddling her up for a morning ride. For the sake of a quiet ride, I turned her in the opposite direction of the mill, going to the slightly more "wild" side of the property, and past the road that lead to the harbor.

I paused there, wondering if maybe I should go down and say goodbye again, would he like that? Would he mind? I couldn't make up my mind, but in the end I didn't have too. Birdie, tired of simply standing on a road she'd rather be running on, began to fidget her way down it, taking us in the opposite direction of the docks. I sighed, deciding that the mare was probably right, we came out here to play not to dawdle about. I turned her on to a narrow road that lead further in to the woods, but one we had been on a few times before, so I felt comfortable enough to let the mare run for a bit. It took no urging from me to get her to run, I simply had to signal my readiness for it. Leaning forward I whispered

"Fly on little Birdie."

and with a delighted squeal she jumped forward, thundering down the path.

It was exhilarating and comforting, to be able to do something that was so familiar and so carefree to me. This wasn't something new, or something that required additional training, this was something I did everyday back home. When Birdie slowed down to an easy going canter, I let my eyes close. If I simply listened to her hoof beats, felt the wind tug at my hair and hat, I could almost imagine the ranch. I could almost hear the cattle calling to each other, or hear the boys joke amongst them selves, or just make out the distant noise of the highway.

_**BANG**_

The loud noise and Birdie's reaction to it yanked me from my reverie, bringing me back to reality just as the spooked mare leapt sideways at the sound.

"Easy, there Birdie, easy." I soothed the mare, as I listened to the last of the echos fade away. _Gun shot. That was a gun shot._ The only reason I could think of someone using a gun (way out here anyway) was to hunt, and the only hunter I could think of was Connor, _and he doesn't use guns._ Not to hunt anyway. I doubted anyone back at the manor could of heard it, Birdie and I had gone fairly deep in to the woods, and the shot was even farther in. I tried to listen for another shot, but instead I heard the distant murmurs of voices. At least I think I did, it was hard to tell. _Could they be poachers?_ I thought, _does the homestead's lands extend this far? If they are poachers whats the policy for handling them?_ _Should I check it out?_ I sat there on Birdie for a moment, trying to figure out whether or not I should go. _Well, I suppose if they are poachers, they'll most likely run away before I get to them..._ I shrugged at the thought, finally deciding to go see what I could see.

Birdie was still spooked about the noise, now twitching at nearly every sound, but she obediently trotted in the direction I had pointed her in. It was probably a solid fifteen to twenty minutes down the road when I heard the first clear noise; a pained moan. At the sound I urged Birdie in to a canter, coming around the bend to see a woman walking slowly down the road, cradling her bloody left arm to her chest. And the sound of birdie's hooves, the woman's head snapped up, pain, anger, and a little bit of desperation were evident on her face.

"Please, can you help me!" she said as I pulled Birdie to a stop a little ways ahead of her, glancing about quickly for signs of a trap before hopping off. _Too many movies,_ I thought to my self as I approached her,

"What happened?"

"Poachers in the woods, I asked them to leave-" a wave of pain crossed over her face, causing her to wince slightly and clutch her arm a little tighter. "-They answered with a musket ball."

"Damn, they shot you for that?" I said as I leaned closer to look at her arm, frowning at the damage I could see. There was a definite hole in her arm, but it was mostly a mess of blood and dirty fabric, with the blood flow staunched by a sloppily applied tourniquet. "Ass hole doesn't even begin to describe them." I snarled before straightening, and gesturing to Birdie, "I don't have anything with me, but I can take you back to the house that I'm staying at. We can take care of your arm there."

"But, what of the men who did this?" she exclaimed, gesturing to her bloody arm and glancing back down the road, I scoffed slightly,

"Seriously, you're bleeding all over, now's not the time for head hunting, we can do that later." She seemed a little taken back by my words, but didn't argue any further as I lead her over to Birdie.

"So, what were you doing out here?" I asked the woman as we came to a halt next to the mare. Birdie eyed the strange woman grumpily, pinning her ears back and flicking her tail in am unhappy manner. If there was one perk to Birdie's bitchiness, it was the fact that I didn't have to worry about her getting stolen.

"I was coming to get permission to hunt on this land. I'm a huntress by trade, living where the land makes it easiest." She said as I grabbed Birdie's reins, trying to steady the cantankerous mare so the woman could get on. It was a bit of a struggle for her, with only one working arm and all, but with a little help from me she was finally able to sit atop the mare. I swung up after her, careful not to kick the other woman as I did so, settling in the saddle before turning Birdie towards the manor.

"Doesn't sound easy, the whole hunter by trade thing." I said as Birdie picked up a light trot. I glanced back at the woman, trying to see if Birdie's gait was jarring at all for her, but she seemed unfazed by it. Perhaps she had reached the height of her pain a while ago.

"Well, to be honest, it was either this, the convent or the brothels. I prefer the open air." the woman replied a little defensively. I was slightly confused by her list of... occupations before I remembered, _it's 1773, women didn't have a lot of options. If at all._ I turned my head towards her again and nodded,

"I here ya... My names Almira by the way."

the woman nodded in return and smiled slightly at me, "Myriam."

We stuck to light chatter after that, I not really having many questions for her anymore, and Myriam was becoming more and more absorbed with tending to her arm. It was close to an hour before we came with in sight of the manor, and I was glad of it. Myriam's arm was still bleeding, and she was having an increasing amount trouble with staying on Birdie's back. Every once in a while her hand had grabbing my shoulder, now it stayed there. I was starting to wonder if she might pass out from blood loss, when I finally pulled Birdie to a stop in front of the manor.

"We're here." I said as I slid off the mare, before helping a slightly unsteady Myriam down as well.

"Achilles!" I called as I opened the door, leading Myriam in side. I called for the elder Assassin again as I lead the woman to towards the kitchen, knowing there was at least clean water there so we could start cleaning her wound.

"What is it child?" came Achilles' voice, followed by the sound of his limping gait and cane as he emerged from his room. His eye's widened in shock as he came with in sight of the bloodied woman I was escorting, "What happened?" he said as he followed us in to the kitchen.

"Grouchy ass poachers..." I growled as I grabbed the kettle and set it over the fire. I heard Achilles sigh before addressing the question to Myriam as I busied my self with finding the bandages. As I rummaged through a few of the cupboards, I could hear Myriam tell Achilles the same thing she told me, ending her story just as I found the bandages. When I brought them over to where Myriam was sitting, I noticed Achilles giving me a slightly hard look.

"You must take care of them."

"What?" I said, a little apprehensive to what I thought he was implying.

"Those men are a danger to all who live here, they must be dealt with."

"But Achilles, I-"

"But nothing." Achilles said sternly as he faced me fully, "If I did not think you capable, I wouldn't send you." The senior Assassin gestured towards his room as he turned away from me and back to Myriam. "There is a dagger on my desk, take it with you, I can attend to the young lady here."

I stared at his back for a moment, feeling uneasy about the entire thing, before slowly going retrieve the dagger. The dagger sat in its sheath, an old piece of leather with stitching that was showing signs of wear. The dagger itself looked worn, the grip rubbed smooth with a few nicks and dents in it, but the blade it's self was still sharp. I attached the weapon to my belt, giving Achilles' back one last look before I went back out to Birdie. The mare was a little less then pleased, when I turned her back in the direction of the forest, and not the barn, but she eventually settled in to an even canter.

I honestly didn't think Achilles was in the right, not with sending me out here. I should have gone and gotten Connor, it wasn't noon yet, he should still be in port readying the _Aquila. I could still go,_ I thought, _just turn Birdie around. _I battled with this as Birdie ran on, letting out tired snorts every few strides before I finally let her slow down to an easy walk. Once we reached the spot where I had heard the gun shot, and I decided that getting Connor would wast too much time, so I rode on stopping only when I got to the point where I met Myriam.

Connor had started teaching me about tracking only about a week ago, so my skills in this were mediocre at best. I knew I had to try though, if Achilles thought me capable, then I had to. So I slid off of Birdie, leading her down the road, in the direction Myriam had been coming from when I found her. I could see a few spots of blood on the road, but they were few and far between, and I was having difficulty finding her boot prints in the dust. It took me a long while before I found the spot where she had been shot, or at least I thought it might be the spot. A stark red hand print (one matching the size of the bloody hand print I had on my shirt), was smeared on a birch tree, revealing that Myriam had at least been here.

I tied Birdie to the tree and circled the area a few times, trying to find any sign of the poachers. I'm not sure how long I did this, just going round and around the area, finding nothing. Finally after what seemed like forever I gave up, throwing my hands up in the air and letting out a frustrated growl I went back over to Birdie, ready to ride back to the manor and admit my defeat. Mounting up on the mare, I glanced to the sky, wondering if maybe I could go get Connor (seeing as it wasn't noon yet), when I saw it. Wispy gray smoke swirled above the trees in almost the exact opposite direction from where I had been looking. It had to be the Poachers.

I let Birdie pick her way through the forest, slowly making our way towards the source of the smoke, but before long I heard the sounds of conversation.

"- Should go back home, she 'ad no business be'n out here."

" Yeah, not sure wut she thought she was play'n at. 'Get permission' puh... no one out here but us!"

"Well, I her'd there's a little community form'n around these parts."

"There's a _mill_, Frank, one measly _mill_. That's hardly the beginnings of a community."

"Well... it's still someth'n-"

"Quiet! I think I heard someth'n!"

Their conversation halted when the sound of Birdie's hooves could be heard rustling in the leaves, announcing our presence to them. I knew they couldn't see me yet, since their camp was located on a small rise in the forest, so it gave me a little bit of time to think of a plan. But not much... _okay, okay, don't panic_ I thought, _You've spent the past month training for scenarios like this! Think!_

"Someone out there?" one of the voices shouted, just before a head covered by a ratty hat popped up over the edge of the rise. _Alright, they probably all have muskets, which means_ _I need to get closer. Make there guns too awkward to use._ I thought, so I decided to try and play friendly, waving at the man as Birdie trudged up the hill.

"Howdy!" I said, as with one last lurch Birdie reached the top, bringing me with in sight of the camp. I glanced around the place, seeing four other men besides the one next to the ridge, all of them armed with muskets. I couldn't see any other weapon besides their muskets, but I assumed at least one of them welded a knife of some kind, how else could they have skinned and prepared the three rabbits that hung over the fire. _ I gotta be real clever about this_, I thought to myself as I looked to the man standing besides the ridge, gripping his musket in his hands as he slowly approached me.

"Who are you?" he asked as he peered at me from under his tattered hat. I smiled, letting Birdie take a few more steps in to the camp before I dismounted,

"A wanderer." I replied, tipping my hat at him, before I faced the rest of the poachers. "Saw the smoke from your camp..." The lot of them slowly stood as I walked leisurely in to their camp._ No bayonets, makes things easier. _"...and I wondered who would be way out here in the middle of nowhere."

"Just some hunters little girl, now why don't ya go back home and get out of yer brothers britches 'fore sumth'n bad happens." a man with a crooked nose said to me, tucking his musket in to the crook of his arm as he did so. I continued walking slowly towards them, seeing out of the corner of my eye that the tattered hat man was slowly trying to come up behind me. Meanwhile, Birdie on my right was little by little getting more agitated by the presence of the strange men, her ears slowly becoming pinned back as we got closer to the group.

"Oh? Some thing bad?" I said, a bit of mockery slipping in to my voice as I came to a stop in front of them.

"like getting shot by poachers, maybe?"

There was a pause while my words sunk in, before crooked nose finally scoffed, "Ooh, that little wench had a friend? Ya think ya'd learn from her mistake..." he said as he raised his rifle and pulled the trigger,

but I was no longer there.

The man was cocky and overconfident, almost lazily raising his musket, which allowed me plenty of time to duck and roll forward, bringing me with in striking distance of him. I stood, grabbing his now empty gun by the barrel and yanking it away from him, as well as delivering a hard kick to his gut. The man fell backwards, clutching his belly while I turned to deal with the next man. Using the first mans gun as a sort of club, I knocked the second's aside before he could even fully raise it, hearing it go off and feeling the dirt spatter my back as the bullet hit the ground. Dropping the musket from my hands, I stomped the side of the seconds knee, hearing a sickening crunch and then the mans screams.

The third man's musket had apparently not been loaded, as he himself tried to use it as a club, taking a wild swing at me with it. I ducked just in time, tackling the man to the ground before he could take another swing. As I sat up to deliver a punch, I noticed the fourth man's musket barrel pointed at me just in time for me to roll off of number three, hearing the gun's report and another man's scream from behind me. I didn't bother to look who it was, instead I stood, and lunged at the shooter, delivering a wild kick to his side.

The man stumbled a little, but shook off the effects of the kick, dropping his spent musket and pulling out a large hunting knife. I in turn drew Achilles' dagger, jumping back as the man took a swipe at me, and again as he repeated the attack. When he tried a third time I stepped closer, halting his swing and burying the borrowed dagger in to his knife arm. He cried out, stumbling backwards as he dropped his knife clutching at the hole in his arm. The man wasn't an immediate threat any more, so I took a glance at the other men, and it was then that I realized I had forgotten the-man-with-the-tattered-hat.

But Birdie hadn't.

The man was currently trying to crawl awkwardly away from the horse, breathing shallowly and clutching at his chest. Judging by his behavior and Birdie's(who was standing off to the side of the encampment now, angrily stomping and making small little kicking gestures towards the crawling man), I deduced that the man had received a solid kick to his chest. _Good pony_ I thought as I looked to the rest of the men. The first one I had gut kicked, had apparently taken the fourth man's bullet to the shoulder, and sat clutching the wound next to the one with a mangled knee. Only the third man remained unscathed, holding his empty musket in his hands as we faced each other. I stepped closer to him welding my dagger, causing him to dance backwards a little bit,

"I strongly suggest you take your comrades and leave this place while you can..." I growled at the remaining man, hoping they would take the bluff, " before you're unable to leave at all." He stood there a moment, looking as if he was teetering on the edge of attacking or retreating, when crooked nose spoke up.

"Leave 'er Frank, s'not worth the trouble." Crooked Nose said to the unharmed man, before he looked to me, "we'll go," He grunted, hate and pain twisting his features as he glared, "We'll leave... but this isn't over ya little shit."

I matched his glare, letting venom drip in to my words, " Oh, I very much think it is... Now go, before I lose my patience!" Crooked Nose sneered but said nothing, instead he gathered his comrades and collected the half cooked rabbits, before they all limped and stumbled their way back to the road. I watched them leave, even when they reached the road, I sat atop an agitated Birdie and watched them disappear down the road. When I was satisfied that they had gone I turned the grumpy mare towards the manor, letting the tired horse pick her own pace back to the house.

It was well over an hour before Birdie finally came to a stop in the manor's paddock. The two of us were a bit worn from our adventure this morning, (Birdie more so then I) but I still took the time to rub the mare down and feed her (along with the other horses of course) before going in side the house. By this time it was almost noon, the mid autumn sun hanging high in the sky, however from the back porch of the manor I could see the _Aquila_'s masts sitting idly in the bay. _Wonder whats keeping them?_ I thought as I walked through the door, catching what seemed like the tail end of a conversation between Achilles and Myriam.

"-here and once your arm is healed, I see no reason that prevents you from hunting in these woods."

"Thank you Achilles, for everything. I- oh hello again Almira!" Myriam chirped as I walked in to the Kitchen, hanging up my hat and ruffling up my hair. Myriam looked a lot better, her arm hanging in a sling as she sat and talked with Achilles.

"Ah there you are," Achilles said as he stood, limping over to me and then began herding me out of the kitchen. " How did things go?" Achilles took my arm and directed me down the hall, towards the stair case as he waited for his answer.

"They're gone." I said, glancing at the elder Assassin and back to the kitchen.

"The poachers are dead?"

I blinked at Achilles, "Uh... no."

He sighed, "They will be back you know..."

"I doubt that," I said defensively, "and even if they do, it'll be a good long while before any of them are up for the task..."

"You should have killed them, then there wouldn't be a risk of them returning."

"I couldn't kill them!" I squeaked at him, "Not all of them! Only one of the poachers shot Myriam, that doesn't mean they should _all_ die!"

"Then you should have killed _him_." Achilles sighed again, "hm, but I suppose what's done is done, may the consequences bear lightly on us all." he mumbled the last before waving me towards the stairs. "Go and change out of that bloody shirt of yours, Connor is waiting for you down by the docks," He then began turning back towards the kitchen before continuing, " We'll discuss this further on your return." and with that the conversation had ended.

I stood if front of the stairway, staring at the retreating elder's back, feeling... angry, hurt. Had I not done as he asked? I was told to deal with them and I had! He said nothing about killing anyone. With a huff I made may way upstairs, doing my best _not_ to stomp on each step like a child would. I grumbled the entire time I was in my room, ripping off the blood stained shirt and nearly popping a button in the process, to mixing up the buttons and button holes on the clean one twice. Needless to say my mood had worsened by the time I left my room, angrily yanking on my jacket as I walked down the stairs (again, trying my best _not_ to stomp, although failing on the last three steps.) and exiting through the front doors, bypassing the kitchen entirely.

I didn't refrain from stomping all the way down to the docks though, releasing my anger through a physical action helped me calm down and relax a little bit. I had finally eased down to a more normal walk by the time I reached the clearing, only then realizing that I hadn't asked the most obvious question; _Why_ was Connor waiting for me?

* * *

AN: Hey, sorry for the long wait! This chapter will be coming to you in two parts! because I got to this point, and realized I was barely half way through. So, to make it a more enjoyable read for ya'll I'll be splitting it up, and bringing part two some time next week... Hopefully, I'm still writing it :s

Also, a shout out to my beta reader !

and as always, I love every review/favorite/follow I get! ya'll are awesome!


	6. Chapter 5 II

_Why on earth has Connor not left yet?_

The thought echoed through my mind as I walked through the clearing, seeing only empty caravan wagons and the old wooden-legged man mingling in it. The true commotion was on the ship,with the sailors shouting to each other seemingly preparing to launch. Among these voices I could hear Connor's, calling out what sounded like orders, but I couldn't see him.

Walking up to the ramp leading to the ship deck, I called out for Connor, seeing a few of the sailors pause in their work to look at me and point me out to their fellows. I was about to try calling to him again, when someone appeared at the top of the ramp, the stranger's blue coat flapping in the breeze as he gazed at me.

"Almira! We have been waiting here for over an hour, what took you so long?" The man said in a familiar voice, staring down at me from under his large, blue tricorn hat, and then I got a good look at his face.

"Connor!?"

I was surprised to see Connor dressed in something so... _spiffy_. I was so used to seeing him in either his assassin robes, or the simple pair of trousers and dark brown shirt he wore for training. This though, this made him look quite dashing, from his dark blue overcoat right down to the deep brown boots he wore.

But the hat could go...

Connor sighed, looking extremely impatient as he stepped down the ramp towards me. "Almira, we should have set sail an hour ago. Now come on, your things are on board, we are just waiting for you."

"Wait, what?" I said, confusion overriding my admiration for his choice of clothing. "My things? Why... why are my things on the ship? _Who_ put my thing on the ship? And what _things_?!"

Connor's surly expression mixed with his own dose of confusion as he looked at me, "Did Achilles not tell you?"

"Tell me what?! All he said was that you were waiting for me, that was it!"

Connor sighed again and almost, _almost_, rolled his eyes " Achilles and I agreed that your training should include some seafaring expertise, and that this voyage could provide it."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said, taking a few steps back from Connor and the ramp, as a little worm of fear wiggled its way in to my gut. "When was this decided, and why wasn't I told about it?"

"This morning. You had gone riding when I brought the idea to the old man," Connor still had that tinny hint of confusion on his face, but it was slowly being replaced by an increasing amount of annoyance, as he watched me back away from him. "You had not returned by the time Achilles consented, so I gathered some of your things and told him to send you, once you had finished with your ride."

"You took... You went in to my room and... uhgn... wh-_WHY_ is this necessary!?" I squeaked at him, "_I_ don't see why it's necessary! I mean I can get around on land just fine, why screw that up?"

Connor arched an eye brow at me, "It is necessary because not everything happens on land. Trade routes may need to be cleared, vessels in need of an armed escort, there may even be places we must reach that are only accessible by sea."

I frowned at him. L_ogic, why is it always logic?_ I thought as I nervously eyed the boat then Connor,

"Well, that's.. Okay, but why do _I_ need to learn the seafaring thing? I mean, you seem to like it and know it just fine, so... Why don't I stay here and handle the ground things and you can float around and do your captain-y thing..." I said shrugging at him, feeling a nervous smile pull at the corners of my mouth.

Connor's reaction was an expression I didn't think I could categorize. Flabbergasted, impatience, and annoyance were all mixed in to one. "Almira," he said after a slight pause, "There might be times where I cannot captain the _Aquila,_ and I will need someone, _you_, to see that whatever mission requires her presence is done."

"I-I-I-I... just no. No Connor. I can't... I'm not... this... this isn't a good idea." I stuttered as I tried to come up with a logical excuse as to why I couldn't go. Connor frowned at me, as I took a nervous step back.

"I do not understand, what is wrong?"

"I'm... I'm bad luck." S_o much for logic..._ "Because... because I'm a woman." I said with a nod.

Connor stared at me for a good, long, moment, "You are making excuses." he said, his voice deadpan.

"No, no, it's a real thing..."

"Almira..."

"I heard it from some sailors. Women are really bad luck... really, really bad."

"Almira, get on the ship."

"No, I refuse." I said stubbornly as I backed up another step, only to have Connor advance three. "I'm not going to endanger your ship with my presence." I crossed my arms and tried to stare down the scowling man. _Maybe I should just try running..._

"Almira do not be foolish, you are speaking of simple superstition nothing more. Now get. On. The. Ship." Connor growled at me.

"I am not stepping foot on that boarding ramp." I snapped back. Connor glared at me, anger smoldering in his eyes, but after a moment he straightened letting his glower cool to a more neutral expression.

"Fine." he said, in a calm, even tone. I felt my eyebrows raise in surprise, I honestly wasn't expecting him to relent, but I wasn't going to question it.

"Good." I said in a tone that matched his, before I turned away from him, "I'm glad we could come to an agree-EEEEMENT!" I squealed as Connor effortlessly picked me up, and slung me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"WHAT THE HELL CONNOR! PUT ME DOWN!" I screamed at him, slapping my hands on his back as he began walking up the loading ramp. "DON'T YOU DARE! DON'T YOU DARE TAKE ME ON THAT SHIP! COOONNNNNOOOORRR!" But my words were ignored.

" To quarters men! Haul in anchor and unfurl the sails!" I heard Connor yell over my shouts, once he stepped on to the ship. " Take the helm Mr. Faulkner, I have my hands full at the moment."

I heard chuckles from a few of the sailors at Connors words, causing me to growl in frustration and kick my legs a bit. It was a useless of course, Connor had one arm tightly wrapped around my waist, while the other clamped down on my legs.

"David, could you open the hatch for me?" I heard him say to a man I couldn't see from my precarious situation.

"NO CONNOR. TAKE ME OFF THIS SHIP! NOW! DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN I SWEAR YOU WILL REGRET TAKING ME ON THIS SHIP! UHHGGG!" I screeched as he stepped down below the main deck, "DAMN IT THIS IS BASICALLY KIDNAPPING!" A few steps and another set of stairs took us deeper in to the _Aquila_'s belly.

"PUT ME DOWN CONNOR! PUT ME DOWNNnnuuph!" With a sharp turn to his left and a great shrug, Connor deposited me onto a cot, the likes of which seemed to be shoved in to a room no bigger than a closet. No sooner had I hit the cot, than I launched up from it, lunging at Connor full of rage fueled by humiliation. I came at him with my hands raised, to push him, slap him, strangle him SOMETHING. I think Connor was expecting something along those lines though, because he easily caught me by the wrists, holding them securely as we fixed each other with glares.

"Let. Me. Go." I growled at him.

"No."

"God dammit Connor, this isn't fair!"

"This is your training!" he snarled back, " Training you _asked_ for. The _Aquila_ is an asset to the Assassins, so knowledge of it and its workings can only be beneficial." I glowered at his words, giving my wrists a small jerk,

"You could have asked!" I snapped back.

"There was no time!"

"Ooh like _hell_ there wasn't! What about last night, huh? Or maybe the day before? When did you start planning this voyage, last week? You could have asked me then!"

Connor was silent for a moment, simply glaring at me, before sighing "I did not think of it untill this morning."

I scoffed, taking a step back and tugging my wrists out of Connor's grasp as I did so. "Figures..." I muttered glancing about the room. Spreading my arms wide, or as much as I could in the cramped space, I glared back at Connor,

"This my room?"

"Yes, I-"

"Fantastic, get out." I spat at him. His glare only deepened,

"Almira-"

" I said _get out_." I took a step forward, placing a hand on his chest to push him through the entry way. He had grabbed my wrist again, but the grip wasn't as firm and he didn't try and push back as I backed him out of my closet.

"I am done talking. I'm here on your damn ship, just like you wanted, and now I want you _the hell out of my room_." I said with a final shove, yanking my wrist out of his grasp, and wrenching the curtain closed. I stomped the two short steps back to my cot, and practically threw myself on to it, immediately cocooning myself in the thick, scratchy, gray blanket there. From the other side of the curtain I heard Connor mutter in words I didn't understand, before he himself stomped off.

_You_ _childish, prideful little coward!_ I thought bitterly at myself as I curled up on the cot. I was angry, embarrassed, and ashamed at the entire ordeal. I was angry at Connor for his bullheadedness, embarrassed by his actions and my own, and ashamed at the heart of the matter; my fear. If only I could have admitted to it, then he might have let me stay behind. Or maybe if I could just _get over it_, not have this silly fear of mine, then I would have gladly gotten on board. _Maybe this can be my chance to"get over it"._ I thought. I hoped so, because I was stuck here for the next three weeks, and if I didn't man up to it I was going to go hysterical in the next twenty four hours.

At least I could almost forget I was on a ship floating off to God-knows-where, when I cocooned myself in the blanket, and faced the tinny cabin wall. The only thing that reminded me that I was at sea, was the sound and smell of the ocean, misting in through the half open window. I suppose I could close it, but I wanted it open, _just in case._

I laid there wrapped in that blanket long enough to fall in to a fitful asleep, starting every time the ship gave a larger sway, or the boards creaked louder than usual. The memory-dreams didn't help ether. A few hours of this and I felt exhausted, mentally exhausted; from the worry, the fear, and from the images from my dreams. The little fear-worm from earlier had grown in to a snake, coiling around my stomach and twisting, squeezing around it, making me feel a little sick. Or maybe it was the lack of food, it was a little hard to be sure. By the time I decided to unfurl from my cocoon, the light from the window had lessened, signaling that this rather eventful day had begun its end.

"Almira?" a familiar voice called softly with a knock from the other side of the curtain, "It is dinner time." I was quiet for a moment, waiting to see if there was more, but there wasn't. With a huff and the sound of a boot scraping on wood, I figured he turned to leave.

"Connor!" I called, shooting up from the cot and peeking out of the curtain. He was half turned away from the door when I caught him, looking at me with a cool expression on his face.

"What is it?" he asked in the same soft voice he had used earlier, as if he was trying to keep emotion from it.

"I..." I began, feeling the snake slowly tighten around my stomach, as well as heat rise to my cheeks, causing me to stare at my boots instead of him; "... need to... talk to you."

I heard a shuffle of boots as he turned to face me fully, "What is it?" he asked. I glanced at him for a second, before looking back to my feet and shuffled to the side, pulling the curtain with me.

"Will you... come in? Please?"

He stood there a moment just staring at me, before nodding and stepping in to the tiny room. I closed the curtain behind him, and squeezed my way to the side of the bed, settling down onto it. He was quiet, as I sat there wringing my hands, just leaning on the side of the wall with his arms crossed.

"I... need to explain myself, I suppose." I said, sneaking glances at him in the room's dimming light. "There's a reason I didn't want to come on the ship... I'm... afraid." Connor blinked, giving me a slightly confused look.

"Afraid? What is there to be afraid of?"

I winced slightly, feeling a little more insecure about the ridiculousness of my fear, "I'm... afraid of boats." I mumbled while staring at my hands, picking at my nails in an effort to distract myself from, just, _everything_. A second ticked by where the only sound was the water lapping against the ship, and a growing clamor of men's laughter and boisterous conversation with in. With a slight rustling sound Connor came over to the side of the cot, squatting down next to me, cocking his head a little as he looked at me.

"You could have said this earlier at the docks, why did you refrain?" His tone was still soft, but carrying a bit of warmth with it now. His cool expression had begun to morph in to one of pity and confusion.

I sighed, lowering my head to almost my knees, as I ran my hands through my hair.

"Because it's stupid. I shouldn't _be_ afraid of boats. Most people who almost drown are afraid of water, and _that's_ logical. They're usually not afraid of the thing that keeps them _out_ of the water..." I put my head in my hands, trying to avoid Connor's stare. It _was_ stupid and foolish to be afraid of boats, but I just couldn't help it.

Connor touched my arm lightly with his fingertips, gently lowering my hand away from my face. " Something happened to make you feel this way?" I glanced at him before looking back to my hands and nodding.

"Yeah, it's a... it's a bit of a story." I mumbled, looking back at him. Connor just stared, patiently waiting for me to continue. Before I did, however, I scooted myself farther down the cot, gesturing to Connor that he could take a seat. I knew it would be a heck of a lot more comfortable then squatting next to it the entire story.

" I was eight," I began once we both had settled on to the cot. " My family and I were on a trip to visit some old friends of my parents. They happened to live next to a lake, with their son... Josh... Jacob...or whatever the hell his name was. Point is, they had a son, with really, _really_ poor taste in friends. This boy and his friends were all around Evelyn's age-twelve or so- and decided one day, to take her and a little row boat out onto the lake.

"I was really bored with the adults, and the twins at the time weren't old enough to get in to the best kind of trouble you know?-" I glanced over at Connor to see a faint smirk on his face. _Perhaps we were both wild little brats..._ I thought with my own little smirk. "-So when I saw Eve and the boys getting in the boat I demanded to go. Eve was fine with it, I mean she knew I could swim and stuff, so in theory she really wouldn't have to worry about me falling into the water or something.

"The boys were a little less than keen. They tried arguing with Eve for a bit but in the end it didn't work, so they begrudgingly let me in the boat and rowed out to the middle of the lake, all the while telling spook stories about water monsters and what not. I think they were trying to scare me, or both Eve and I, but it really wasn't working. I don't know why, but for whatever reason the boys had it in there mind that day to try and scare us. So when telling stories didn't work they tried to scare us by rocking the boat.

"Dumbass boys, made us angry more then anything. So they tried rocking it harder, eventually causing it to swing so much that it would take little scoops of water on board every time, and then they finally swung too far one time and took on more then a little scoop. It was obvious that the boat was going down so we all jumped out - or tried to. I was wearing a pair of sandals, and when I jumped out, one of the straps got caught on... _something_. I didn't really understand what was wrong till the boat started dragging me under, sinking me along with it. I started panicking, trying to kick my foot free, or undo the straps, anything to keep me from going to the bottom of the lake with the boat.

"But I couldn't do it. I couldn't get my foot free, and the surface of the water kept getting farther away, and all I wanted was a breath of air, but I just couldn't do it." I sighed, rubbing my face before continuing. "Thankfully, Evelyn realized something was wrong and dove down after me, pulling my shoe off in the first try." I peeked through some strands of hair at Connor, before looking back to hands. "She got me to shore and the boys were scolded, and everything was fine... but ever since then I just couldn't bring myself to get on to any kind of boat. I just keep thinking, what happens if my foot gets caught again? Or an arm, or a leg, or if I get caught in a room like this," I said gesturing to the cramped living quarters, "and I can't get out? What then? I mean, I can't rely on my sister to get me out all the time..."

"Then rely on me," Connor said softly, after I had gone quiet. "After all, is it not my duty as Captain to see to the safety of my crew?" I scoffed and shook my head,

"Connor, you don't have to coddle me, I-"

"I am not coddling you Almira, I am serious." Connor's tone was earnest, causing me to turn my head slowly to look at him. "If the _Aquila_ starts sinking, I will find you, and make sure that you get safely off the ship. I promise." he said, cocking his head to the side and lowering it slightly to look me in the eye. I found myself unable to keep a steady gaze back though, always flickering between his eyes and my hands.

"Connor you don't... I... I'll get through this, really." I said, finally able to hold his gaze for longer than five seconds. "You don't need to make promises to make me feel better." He sighed through his nose at my words, the only hint of impatience on his otherwise stoical face.

"Almira, does my promise help you, or does it not?" I stared at him for a good, long, moment. I didn't want to admit that the thought of someone looking out for me helped. It made me think myself weak, or too needy. I opened my mouth to tell him that no, it didn't help thank you very much, and that I would just have to grow a pair and deal with the situation like a big girl should. Only I couldn't say it. The words caught in my throat, my tongue unwilling to say the lie I had crafted.

"Yes," I found myself saying instead, "It helps."

A small, pleased, smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as I looked at him, a comfortable silence falling on to the conversation as we sat there. After a few moments Connor stood, facing me as he gestured towards the entrance,

"I think perhaps we should make our way to the galley, before the crew consumes the entire meal."

I chuckled lightly as I stood, nodding for him to lead the way,"Good idea. Besides, I'm curious to see if the rumors of ship provisions are as bad as they sound."

He looked back at me with a raised eyebrow, "You have heard ill of the food?"

"Maggoty bread and really bad eggs. _Exceptionally_ bad eggs." I said, thinking on the famous pirate song.

Connor scoffed, "The bread is fine, and there are no eggs."

"No eggs?"

"No, noway to keep them fresh."

"Huh, didn't think about that..."

"Captain!" one of the sailor's shouted as Connor and I walked in to the galley, "And the fox-haired girl! Was hoping you'd come out of that little den of yours!" The crew chuckled at the sailor's remark, as Connor and I took our seats across each other at the long dinner table.

"Her name is Almira," Connor said to the sailor, before looking back to me, "Almira, allow me to introduce the crew of the _Aquila_," he said gesturing to the man who first called upon us, sitting two seats away. "This is David Clutterbuck, and the man sitting next to him, is his brother Richard. They are the _Aquila_'s gunnery officers." I nodded in greeting to the two men, just as the curly blond sitting next to me piped up,

"And I'm Kimball!" he said, extending a hand towards me and giving my own a single firm shake. "You can call me Kim. I must say its so nice to have a pretty face to look at now. When I joined this crew they forgot to mention how ugly everyone was." Kim stage whispered the last part to me, leaning in slightly as he gave the table a look of repulsion.

"Whatss you talk'n 'bout boy?" a balding man with three missing teeth, and wiry gray hair from head to chin, whistled at Kimball. The aged sailor stood up, striking a pose as he swept a hand over his head, "I'm the mosst handssomesst thing to gracce thiss sship!"

The entire table erupted in laughter, stomping their feet, smacking the table, and throwing their heads back in howling laughter. _Sure is a boisterous group,_ I thought as I giggled at the elder seaman's display. Even Connor was chuckling along with the men, shaking his head as he chewed on a biscuit.

"That one is Timothy," Connor said after swallowing his mouthful.

"Aye Captain, that I am!" Timothy shouted above the din as he sat back down, "But you, Missy, may call me Tim." he said, making a showy bow over his food. I giggled again, finding the behavior of these grown men to be quite entertaining. When Tim straightened, he pointed to the man next to him, "This here's Jericho, you can call him-"

"_Jericho_..." the the man said in a deep, slightly accented, bass voice as he looked at me with a hard stare. Jericho was a big man, probably even bigger then Connor, with skin an even darker shade of ebony then Achilles'. He was clean shaven as well, with a smooth, bald head to match, making his overall appearance rather intimidating.

"Er, Jericho..." Tim said with far less enthusiasm than he had before, giving Jericho a raised bushy eyebrow. I was guessing that this wasn't usual behavior for the larger man. Jericho continued to give an almost proud, level stare as the man sitting on his other side leaned around him slightly to look at me.

"And I'm Barnabas, Jay's little brother." a slightly shorter, slimmer, version of Jericho said, giving me a small apologetic look as he glanced at his elder sibling. "It's a pleasure meeting you Miss Almira." he said with a respectful nod and a smile.

" Please, just Almira," I said smiling back at him, "Or Miri, whichever you prefer."

"Of course Miss Miri." Barnabas nodded again, still smiling as he went back to eating his food. Jericho had also gone back to eating his food, the hard biscuit and sticky stew demanding his full attention. I wasn't really sure what his beef was with me, but I suppose we had a few weeks to find out, _ This is going to be fun_.

I awoke slowly the next morning, just lying there on my cot, watching the daylight slowly illuminate the tiny cabin. With the light, came the growing commotion of men, starting their days work on the ship. I wasn't exactly eager to get out of bed, my anxiety never really leaving even after the talk with Connor, making sleeping a near impossible feat. But I knew I had to get up; besides, I didn't know what Connor had in store for me. Might as well try and be ready for it.

Throwing the scratchy blanket off I sat up, reaching for the bag of stuff Connor had apparently packed for me. I hadn't looked at it since coming aboard, in fact I all but forgot about it till I went to bed after dinner last night. Pulling the bag up onto the cot I began digging through it, finding a couple of changes of clothes, a some pairs of socks, and a few wooden pieces of training equipment. _Well, someone intends to keep me busy during this trip..._I thought as I pulled out one of the wooden swords, turning it over in my hands once, before stuffing it back in the sack and pulling out some clean clothes. I got dressed quickly, not only out of fear of someone walking in on me but also because really _cold_. Ships don't have space heaters. Once I was dressed, I tried my best to comb my hair with my fingers, braiding it loosely before I went to leave my cabin.

"Oh, Miss Woodson, you're up!" said a familiar voice as I pulled back the curtain, revealing Robert Faulkner standing a few paces away, looking wide awake and rather perky. I yawned, stretching a little before I replied.

"Good morning Mr. Faulkner." I said as cheerfully as I could while rubbing at the sleep in my eyes. "I'm assuming Connor sent you to wake me?"

"Aye, Miss he did." Faulkner said as he began leading the way to the upper deck. "So how was your first night on the _Aquila_ ?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder at me.

I groaned slightly. "Hm, rough, didn't sleep real well."

"Shame, but its usual. It's common for first time sailors to get a little sea sick. Go and see Marco for some ginger if ya like, I hear it helps calm the sickness." the older man said, halting for a moment to gesture towards the kitchen. I waved off the suggestion, shaking my head as I did so,

"It's not the motion of the ocean that's keeping me awake. Although it isn't helping matters."

"Oh, what else is troubling you Miss?"

"I... uh... I feel a bit anxious when I'm on ships."

"Ah, afraid we'll all sink and drown?" He said, glancing back over his shoulder at me as we walked up the steps to the upper deck.

"Yeah, something like that." I shrugged, not really feeling like going in to detail about the subject.

"Well don't you worry Miss Woodson, the _Aquila_'s the best there is. She cares for her crew, and her crew cares for her." Faulkner said with a bit of conviction. I smiled at the old sailor as we emerged from the lower deck, the morning sun causing me to squint as I looked around the ship. As my eyes adjusted, I could see many of the men I met last night already at work.

"Ah, good morning Miss Miri!" Barnabas said in his lightly accented voice, as he walked passed Faulkner and I. Barnabas turned out to be extremely friendly and chatty, a stark contrast to his tight lipped, cold shouldered, brother. "Come up to watch us work?" he said, grinning at me.

"And what if I have?" I smirked back, planting my hands on my hips as I did so.

Barnabas chuckled. "Every man loves it when a beautiful woman watches him work!" He then spread his arms wide and shouted " 'Em I right boys?" Many of the sailors whooped, and cheered in agreement with Barnabas, who never stopped grinning at me. I laughed at all the sailors, shaking my head at Barnabas as I turned to follow Faulkner up the steps. Connor was at the helm, Richard Clutterbuck, as we ascended the stairs.

"Ah, there's the little fox!" Richard said to me in greeting, glancing over to where many of the sailors were still laughing amongst themselves. "Causing trouble already I see?" he said as he looked back at me with a grin of his own.

I shrugged, cocking a half smile at the man, "Mr. Clutterbuck, I am trouble, just ask the captain." I looked over at Connor, who simply gave me one of his small smiles (with a definite mischievous look in his eye) before saying;

"Almira definitely knows how to keep one on their toes."

Richard chuckled, shaking his head at Connor and I. "Well then, it should be an interesting voyage even if we don't see any action!" he said as he turned to leave, giving the lot of us a respectful nod. I leaned on the railing next to Connor, watching the younger Clutterbuck walk down the stairs to the main deck.

"So, with that comment, where the hell are we going?" I asked, cocking an eye brow at Connor.

"To deal with some raiders, Miss Woodson." Faulkner said, glancing at me from where he stood on the other side of Connor.

"We have gotten reports of raiders gathering close to Martha's Vineyard. We are sailing out to investigate, and deal with any threat we find." Connor explained, looking over at me as he adjusted his grip on the wheel. I stared at him for a moment before turning to face the main deck again, sighing as I did so.

"I should've guessed this was going to be unpleasant and dangerous."

"Oh, don't be so dour Miss Woodson. The _Aquila_ has seen far worse than raiders and come out on top." Faulkner said, glancing over at me again. I simply grunted in response.

"It will be alright Almira, everything will be fine." Connor said quietly, leaning towards me slightly as he spoke. I sighed softly as I looked at him, resting my chin on my shoulder while I stared at him. After a moment Connor straightened, turning back to face the sea ahead.

"Did you find the practice swords I put in your bag?"

I stood straighter as I looked over at Connor, my brow hitching up slightly as I did so. "That I did. I also found my clothes."

I think Connor picked up on my tone, because he slowly looked over at me with a slight frown. "Is there something wrong with your clothes?" he asked, cocking his head to the side, giving me a look of legitimate confusion.

"No, nothing wrong with 'em. Just with how they came to be in the bag." I said, cocking my hip to the side and placing a hand on it, as I watched Connor's face grow more confused. _He has absolutely no idea, does he?_ I shook my head, holding up a halting hand when he opened his mouth to speak. "Connor," I said carefully, moving to stand a little closer to him, "most women consider it an invasion of privacy if you go through her drawers - especially without permission." Connor's eyebrows rose as he came to understand what I was saying.

"Oh, Almira I... I did not mean to-"

"I know Connor, I understand, and seriously am grateful for the change of clothes... But just for future reference, let's avoid situations that may have you rifling through my... unmentionables, eh?" I said, smiling a little as he looked down at his feet and coughed, before looking back to me.

"I, uh, yes. I will keep that in mind." he said as he looked at me, seeming a little flustered. I chuckled lightly at him as I stepped back to the railing,

" Anyway, the practice swords - I assume you have a plan for them?"

"Yes. Are you up for some sparring?"

"Move your feet, Foxy!"

"_One_ hand Miss Miri! One hand! It's not a club!"

"Come on little Fox! Hit the Wolf back!"

"Move your tail before he turns it in to a scarf!"

Almost two weeks in, and the sailors have given me a nickname: _the Fox_. It started with the Clutterbuck brothers' reference to my hair, but as the crew watched the training sessions between Connor and I, other _fox-ish_ aspects had become apparent to them. Quick, cunning, even sly were the words they used to describe my fighting tactics, along with my learning aptitude towards the ship. It was during this time that I also learned of Connor's nickname: _the Wolf_. I haven't been able to get an explanation as to why he got the name, but in all honesty I couldn't think of a better one for him. It went along with my first assessment of the man - Predator I had called him. It was in the way he moved and how he looked at things, not to mention the ferocity with which he fought.

Even in training sessions.

" Ah!-Oof!" For the third time today Connor disarmed and swept my feet out from under me, leaving me lying on my back with the point of his wooden sword at my neck. I looked up at him, seeing strands of hair stick to his sweat dampened face, despite the fact we had both removed our coats for the session. I could hear disappointed murmurs from the crew as I looked at Connor, glaring at him in frustration. I wasn't necessarily frustrated with him, I was frustrated with the damn sword play.

"Uhg... what do I keep doing _wrong!?_" I growled as I batted his sword away, rolling up from the deck and snatching up my own.

"You're not treating it correctly, Miss Miri." Barnabas said from his spot next to the main mast.

"He's right," came Kim's voice from the port side stairs. "I keep telling ya not to use it as a club. It's a sword Miss, not a stick."

"Well what is a sword, but a sharpened metal stick anyway?" I grumbled as I stared moodily down at the wooden stick in my hand.

"It is an extension of your arm," Connor said, wiping the sweat off his brow. "Not simply a stick."

I frowned at the thing in my hand, gripping the hilt a little tighter. _Extension of ones arm... _I thought as I tried to take a few experimental swings with that in mind. The movements, however, felt stiff and cumbersome, even to me.

"No Almira, not like that." Connor said with a hint of a sigh in his voice.

I groaned in exasperation, growling "Not like _what_ Connor? I just... I don't _get_ it. How is this supposed to be an extension?"

Connor slid his practice weapon into his belt as he came over to me, "Here," he said, taking hold of my wrist and placing his other hand on my shoulder. He tried moving my arm at first but stopped, "You are too stiff. You need to relax." I sighed, shutting my eyes and rolling my shoulders once to try and relieve the tension I hadn't really known was there. "Better," I heard him say as I opened my eyes, seeing him move my arm again, but this time with a lot more free movement. "Now, stand like this," he instructed, pulling on my shoulder to make me stand sideways, "To narrow your profile." Connor then moved his hand to my own, adjusting my grip on the hilt, before moving my arm into what I assumed was an "on guard" position.

"Think of the sword as another forearm," he said. "You use it for blocking, parrying, and striking." Connor did each motion slowly, not only moving my arm, but making sure I moved my body properly as well. Pushing or pulling a shoulder here, or tapping my foot with his own there. He did this once, then again, picking up the pace as he repeated the words "Block, parry, strike," with each movement. The third time he was silent as he lightly guided my hand in the movements, and by the fourth he had let go entirely.

"Much better." he said as I finished the last move. I looked over my shoulder at him and cocked a half-smile, feeling _slightly_ more confident about this sword business than before. It was then, however, that I heard the giggling. Not the kind of giggling from gossiping girls, but a sound not too far from it. Looking in the direction of the noise I saw Barnabas, Timothy, Richard and another man by the name of Zacharie standing together, all staring at Connor and I with these mischievous grins. _What the...?_ I frowned slightly at the group, wondering what on earth they were up to, but my look only caused them to laugh again.

"Hands on teacher, eh Captain?" Richard called with this impish smile on his face. _… oh you gotta be kidding me._

"You forgot to tell her how to move her hips!" yelled Barnabas, who put his hands on his own hips, wiggling them from side to side, grinning like a damn Cheshire cat the whole time. As the rest of the crew burst into laughter at Barnabas' display, I looked away from the group and glanced at a really confused looking Connor. _Oh, poor sod has no idea..._ I thought as I felt heat rise up my neck and consume my face. I hoped the exertion from training was hiding most of my blushing as I took a couple steps away from a still perplexed Connor.

"Okay Connor, I think I got it," I said a bit lamely to him, seeing the slight disbelief in his face mixed with the confusion, as I took up a ready stance across from him. Connor gave a look to the giggling sailors before taking up the same stance across from me,

" Now remember Almira," he said, eyes flickering between me and the men, "you must-"

"ROCKS SIGHTED" came John's voice from the crow's nest, causing everyone to snap back to their posts and our training session to come to an early end.

"How far off?" called Connor, as he donned his coat and that damn hat again, taking up his usual position behind the helm.

" 'Bout three klicks out sir!" the man in the crow's nest shouted back. I took up my usual position next to Connor, standing on his immediate right, straining my eyes to see the hazy outline of the coast we had been looking for for the past two days.

"So," I said as I pulled my own coat back on, still squinting at the rocks, "Do ya think these raiders will be floating around, or do we have to go hunting for them?"

"They'll most likely be waiting somewheres in these rocks. Lot of the vineyard's ships come through here, 'tis I fine spot for any ambushes." Faulkner replied.

" Then we must be ready for them." Connor said before looking over to me, "I trust you recall your lessons with the Clutterbucks?"

When Connor and I weren't trying to beat each other senseless during our combat training sessions, I was learning all about the different aspects of seafaring, from the ropes and sails with Faulkner and Timothy, to artillery with the Clutterbuck brothers.

"Yeah, I remember." I said with a nod, already anticipating what he was going to do.

"David!" Connor called to the elder Clutterbuck brother, "take Almira here; let her assist you with the forward guns."

"Aye sir! Come on little Fox, I know exactly where I want ya." David said as he waved me over. I hopped down the steps and trotted over to the man waiting by the port side swivel cannon.

"What's your plan Mr. Clutterbuck?" I chirped, stopping next to David and putting my hands on my hips. Clapping a hand onto my shoulder, he led me to the swivel cannon, positioning me to stand behind it.

"I want you to man this swivel - no buts!" he said holding up a hand as I opened my mouth to protest. "If you can fire this cannon at enemy vessels as well as you can fire it during target practice, then we'll be done and on our way back home before these raiders realize they're in trouble. _Now,_" Turning to Kimball and Barnabas who flanked the cannon, he began addressing them. "You boys take care of our little Fox here, make sure her gun stays loaded, I never want to hear her stop firing ya hear me?" David gave us all a look, as the lot of us assured him with our replies of "aye, aye!" before he gave a satisfied nod and left us to attend to the other gunners.

The Clutterbuck brothers made sure that every single cannon and sailor was ready and waiting for trouble as we approached the craggy cost. Chatter amongst the crew was at a minimum - not because the officers forbade it, it was simply the tension in the air. The fact that we had been waiting to find these raiders since we first cast off made everyone anxious to finally catch them. Kim and Barnabas were blessedly quiet as we reached the rocks, jutting out of the water here and there as the _Aquila_ sailed gracefully through them.

"Vineyard ship!" someone yelled from the starboard side, causing most of us to twist around and look. About twenty meters in front of us and of to the right was a much smaller vessel, lightly armed from what I could see as it passed from right to left in front of us. A few of the sailors aboard the friendly vessel waved a greeting to us, so I waved back, leaning on the swivel cannon as I did so. Being in front of us, the Vineyard ship sailed into semi open water before us, and took the full brunt of the volley from three enemy ships.

"RETURN FIRE!" I heard Connors voice shout from the helm, causing the men to jump in to action. Kim and Barnabas immediately loaded my swivel, Kim ready with the ignition as I tried to aim the thing at the nearest enemy ship. I was caught with indecision at first - do I try and aim for the helmsmen? Or just try and sink the boat?

"Miri?" came Kim's questioning voice. I was taking too long, I had to make a decision _now_.

"Light it!" I shouted, pointing the swivel towards the vessels belly. With a quick hiss and a loud boom, the cannonball tore into the enemy ship's belly, a gaping hole sucking in sea water faster than anything could bucket out. The hole definitely slowed the ship down, but the sailors aboard it were still firing on the Vineyard vessel when the _Aquila_ cleared the rocks, coming along broadside to the three enemy ships.

"FIRE!" roared Connor, and the _Aquila's_ main guns shredded the vessels in a blink. But they were far from the only ones.

"GUN BOATS! GUN BOATS!" shouted David, pointing over the port side to several more vessels coming for the poor Vineyard ship.

"STARBOARD SIDE!" called Richard. I glanced behind me to see two more gun boats break off from their chase of the Vineyard ship to fire on us. A quick volley from the starboard side ended the threat before it quite begun, allowing me to simply concentrate on hitting my targets. The other enemy vessels on my side were almost out of range, making it impossible to strike with any amount of accuracy other than actually _hitting_ the target, and even that was a challenge. If I wanted to hit them at all I had to take into account how fast they were moving, how fast we were moving, how far they were, the angle we were at and-

"Light!" I shouted to Kim, hearing the same hiss and boom as the ball flew towards the ship I intended to hit. With a distant crack I knew I had hit my mark, seeing a slight plume of smoke come from the vessel.

"_Shew_ Miss Miri," Kim whistled as he paused in his reload to stare at the enemy vessel, "David was right 'bout you." I looked at the man and scoffed slightly, trying to cover up the nervousness and uneasiness I felt.

" Think that was impressive? Reload and you'll see impressive." I said in a cocky tone, but it was forced, and to my ears sounded that way as well, but Kim and Barnabas didn't seem to notice. For the next ten minutes it went like this, reload, aim, fire, repeat. My shots we usually shortly followed by a broadside volley, ending the vessels in an explosion of metal and wood, only to have more pop out from spots in the rocks, then suddenly-

"MINES!" shouted Richard as we approached a narrower pass. As soon as the men heard his shout, they began hauling in the sails, slowing the _Aquila_ down to avoid coming up on the dangerous objects too fast.

"FIRE SWIVELS!" Connor commanded. Kim and Barnabas had already reloaded my swivel, as I looked for the devices.

"Where are they?" I asked in frustration as I tried hurriedly to look for the unknown objects.

"There Miss Miri, there!" said Barnabas as he pointed out the floating devices in the water ahead of us. I quickly swerved my cannon around and aimed at the things before we got too close for me to shoot. The pass was riddled with mines, making it extremely hazardous for not only us, but for our enemies as well. A lot of the poor sods were too close to the mines when we fired on them, causing them to explode. The mines were nerve wracking, requiring accuracy that was difficult to achieve with cannons, and if I missed... well, at least no one could yell at me.

...And when it just seemed like that hell was almost done, a new one blew in.

"FOG!" Kim yelled as wisps of it floated around the bend, before revealing its pea soup-like interior.

"No shit Sherlock..." I growled at Kim as three gun boats sailed in to the thick veil. The fog added an unwanted challenge to the already challenging art of the swivel gun. Now, not only did I have to calculate my aim, but I had to _find_ something to aim at first, and shoot it before it disappeared again. I successfully hit two before the fog started thinning, revealing one other vessel that had eluded me through the fog.

"FORT! FORT!" David yelled, just before three loud booms were heard followed by the sound of splashing. Leaning over the railing of the _Aquila_ I saw cannonballs rain down from the fort, and the _Aquila _was right in its path.

Shouts of "Take cover!" and "Brace! Brace!" echoed around the ship as Connor tried to steer it out of the deadly path, but I knew we weren't going to make it, not completely anyway. I pushed off from the rail to try and seek shelter on the starboard side, only to glance back and see that Kimball and Barnabas had simply ducked down next to the swivel.

"No, no, you gotta _move!_" I yelled as I grabbed both men by their coats and hauled them up.

"Miri what are you-" A crash interrupted Kim as I shoved both men towards the opposite side of the ship.

"Move! Now! Move!" I screeched at them, as another hit caused the deck to shudder under my feet, followed closely by another that hit so close it knocked me off my feet. I felt splinters of wood hit the back of my coat and legs as I laid there on the deck, hearing and feeling one last crash before we were finally clear of the cannon path. Sitting up I looked back to see the what wreckage the barrage had caused, seeing most of the railing shattered and missing and that the swivel I was manning was now nowhere in sight. An agonized moan to my left made me roll over, seeing Barnabas lying on his side, clutching at a gaping gash in his thigh.

"Barnabas!" I scrambled to stand as I scurried over to him, Kim reaching him about the same time I did. Kimball took one look at his leg and said,

"He needs to get to Arthur, can you take him?" as he put a hand on my shoulder. I nodded to the blond,

"Yeah, I can get him there." Looking down at Barnabas I clutched his shoulder, "Think you can stand?"

"Yes Miss Miri, I can do that." he groaned, trying to give me a positive grin but failing. I helped him to his feet, pulling his arm around my shoulder as we began to make our way towards the hatch. It was a bit awkward to support him, me being so much shorter then Barnabas, but we were able to reach the hatch before the distant bell rang, signaling another round of mortars.

"Arthur!" I shouted as Barnabas and I stumbled down the narrow hall, hearing Connor shout more orders, and feeling the ship suddenly turn to starboard. "Arthur! Arthur where are you!?"

"Here little Missy. God girl, can you scream any louder..." the pudgy man growled as he peeked out from his work area, glancing at us before going back inside. "Come on Missy, hurry it up. Barnabas' leg isn't getting any better you know." Arthur shouted from within the stall. I mumbled a few choice words about the man for not coming to help, hearing Barnabas chuckle slightly at my barbs. Arthur and I hadn't ever really gotten along - nothing hostile or anything, just... well, Arthur was an ass.

"Lay him down here Missy." the tubby man said as I struggled in to the room with Barnabas. I helped the wounded sailor on to the medical table and took a few steps back as Arthur came up to start his work on Barnabas. "Make yourself useful Missy and bring me those tweezers over there eh?" I sighed, glaring at the back of Arthur's head as I reached over and grabbed the tweezers, sticking them in front of his face. "Good girl, good girl." he cooed, as if he were speaking to a dog. I almost growled.

"_Fire broadside!"_ came the order from above, echoing down to the secondary gun deck as the ship resounded with the sound of firing cannons. I rushed to the door, wanting to go back up top to see if there was anything more I could do, but Arthur stopped me,

"Whoa there Missy, come back here and give me a hand. You'll just get in the way up there anyway..." This time I did growl, but with all the noise happening he didn't seem to catch it. I walked back over to Arthur and Barnabas, glaring at the fat man, but giving Barnabas a sympathetic look. I was halfway thinking about just ignoring Arthur and going back to the upper deck, but decided it'd rather cruel of me to leave poor Barnabas down here with _him_. So I stayed, listening to every volley and suppressing every urge to punch Arthur when he called me _Missy._

"There we are sir, that should tide you over till we can get to the vineyard." Arthur said as he finished dressing Barnabas' wound. I looked over at the man, dumping some bloody rags into a bucket as I did so, wondering what made him think that we were stopping there when a sudden up roar could be heard throughout the ship.

"Ah, we must've won." Arthur chirped as he looked over at me, "I don't really need you here anymore Missy, you can run along up top if you like now." He turned dismissively away from me, missing my glare of hatred. I glanced at Barnabas, who gave me a polite smile.

"Go on Miss Miri, I'm sure the Captain would like to speak to you." he said with a slightly coy smile. I just rolled my eyes at him and turned to leave, but stopped when Barnabas spoke again. "Miss Miri, could you do me a fava and tell my brother I am all right?" I smiled at him and agreed, giving Arthur's back a silent raspberry before I ducked out of the infirmary, Barnabas' chuckles following me all the way out.

Back on deck, it was a mess. I hadn't noticed how much debris went flying from those hits, but the deck was littered with it. Granted, I guess it could be a lot worse, but still. Spotting David kicking around some of the debris next to Jericho, I headed towards them.

"Hey Jericho," I called as I approached them, David giving me a nod in greeting, Jericho giving me a glare. "Barnabas wanted me to tell you that he's alright, and that if you'd like to see him he's in the infirmary." Jericho's only response was a grunt before he brushed by me, heading towards the hatch. I watched him disappear down into the hold before looking back to David, who simply shrugged at the other man's behavior. I sighed, looking around for Connor, seeing him and Mr. Faulkner at the bow next to where my Swivel used to be.

"-is the problem. What reason would the English have to threaten Maratha's Vineyard? It has no strategic value and its people remain peaceful," I heard Connor say as I came closer to the two men. "I fear an influence of a different kind saw to this."

"Templars." growled Faulkner, as I came to stand with them.

"But what they intend, I do not know." Connor turned away from his first mate to look at me, the slightest hint of surprise showing in his eyes. "Almira," he said, looking me up and down once "You are alright. I had heard that Barnabas had been injured, and that you had taken him to the infirmary. I presumed you might have been injured in some way as well." I looked at Connor and smiled, shaking my head,

"No, I'm fine. Barnabas has a nasty gash in his leg though, Arthur says he's good till we reach the Vineyard." Faulkner scoffed a little at my words, half grinning as he shook his head.

"The old salt's good at guessing. Well what do ya say Captain? The ship could use some repairs, and I doubt Barnabas will be the only one see'n Arthur." Connor paused a moment before nodding,

"Yes Mr. Faulkner, to the Vineyard."

It took us the rest of that day plus one more to reach the Vineyard's port, and boy was I thankful for it. I knew I had been missing land, but I guess I hadn't realized how much till my boots hit dirt. I sort of did it for the amusement of the other sailors, but when I collapsed in to the dirt and shouted "Oh God, LAND!" I was _extremely_ grateful for the ground beneath me to not be moving. There I met an old friend of Faulkner's, Amanda Bailey, who owned the inn at Maratha's Vineyard. Amanda quickly became my favorite person on the island, because she freely provided the one thing I had been missing since I left home; _daily baths_. Amanda seemed to understand my love for baths, saying she "knew the need to get the sea stench out of ones skin." I had reached that point about a week ago, when the ship smelled so bad, I had basically lost my ability to smell. Thankfully it wasn't permanent.

We spent three days in port; every one of the injured sailors (there were five in total) saw the doctor, and the _Aquila_ was mostly repaired. All the wooden parts of the ship had been completely repaired, but not painted, and the bent iron haul reinforcements had only been stripped and not replaced. It was also missing the bows port side swivel, but neither Connor nor Mr. Faulkner were expecting trouble on the way back to the homestead, so they didn't see the need to get it replaced right then. By the fourth day we were able to set sail again, every able bodied sailor ready to see the sea once more - except for poor Barnabas, who was stuck in the Infirmary for the rest of the voyage back, but he would still hobble out on a pair of crutches to socialize for dinner, and sometimes come up for air.

All in all, it was a quiet voyage back, allowing me to continue my earlier habit of star gazing at night. The upper deck was usually fairly empty at night, save for a helmsman at the wheel, and a couple of watchmen, one in the crow's nest, and the other simply sauntering around the deck. Some of the men found this entertaining, and interestingly enough they would sometimes stop and teach me a little about the constellations.

During some of these star gazing nights I had taken to skipping dinner, slowly growing to loathe the sticky stew and dry biscuits Marco had prepared. It was nothing against him, but I was just so done with the provisions on the ship. However, it appeared someone had noticed my absence during these meals, as I heard purposeful strides come my way and stop next to me. A familiar pair of arms leaned on the unpainted railing beside me, his head turning in my direction, then to the night sky I was staring at.

"Have you been skipping meals to look for your sisters?" Connor asked me quietly, looking about the night sky. I chuckled slightly, looking down at my hands,

"Good guess..." I said softly, turning my gaze to him and cocking my head to the side. "You come to bring me back to the galley?" Connor shook his head, returning his gaze to me.

"No, I was simply wondering why you have not come yourself."

I scoffed slightly, glancing down at my hands again. " The food, can't stand the slop. So I don't eat it when I'm not hungry."

"Are you often not hungry?"

"Only on clear nights," I said, looking back at him with a smile. I saw him faintly return it in the dim starlight, his gaze lingering on me for a moment before looking to his own hands. After a second passed I looked back at Connor,

"I found them." I said. Connor looked back to me, cocking his head slightly to the side, "The Seven sisters I mean. Here," I pointed to their spot in the sky, leaning closer to Connor as I did so. Connor also leaned closer, gazing down my out stretched arm as he took off his hat, his face hovering right next to my shoulder. "See 'em? They look a little bit like a tiny dipper."

"I think I do." he said, as I lowered my arm and simply stared at the constellation. After a moment Connor settled back on to the rail next to me, staring at the hat in his hands. I continued to stare at the night sky, contemplating a few things as the distant stars glittered above us, until one of those thoughts found my voice.

"Do you ever hope... uhg, never mind..." I sighed, finding the thought to be far too childish and wistful.

"What?" he asked, straightening as he slightly cocked his head to one side.

I shook my head, "It's nothing, just stupid." I mumbled as I started to turn away from him, thinking perhaps it was time to call it a night.

"Almira," came Connor's voice as I felt a light touch on my shoulder. I glanced at the fingers that lightly rested there, watching as they fell away when I turned back around to face Connor again. I stared at him for a second before looking out to the sea again, resting one hand on the railing as I looked from water to stars.

"Ya ever hope they're watching?"

"Who?"

I shrugged. "The... lost I guess. People you can't see any more, 'cause they're just gone or dead."

"Oh," he said quietly, slowly going back to leaning on the railing. Connor was silent for a moment before speaking again, "What do you mean by watching?"

"Just, that... I hope they can see me. That they know I think about them, and that they're proud of me, of what I'm doing." I muttered slightly as I picked at the bare railing, hearing another small "oh" come from Connor. He stared at the water for a moment before responding,

"I have often thought about what might my mother think of me now, how I hope she would be pleased with what I have become." I stared at him as he watched the dark waves lightly lap up against the ship, wondering what it might be like to lose a _mother_ at such a young age as he did.

"Tell me about her." I found myself saying.

He looked up at me in surprise, "Almira I- are you sure you wish to know? I do not know much about her myself." he ended with a slight sagging of his shoulders.

I shrugged, "Just tell me what you do know, or tell me stories of what other people have told you about her." Connor looked back to the waves for a moment before returning his gaze to me.

"What do you wish to know?"

Again, I shrugged at him. "Well, start with what she looked like."

It took Connor a while to begin, but once he did, he didn't stop till well into the night. He talked about his mother at first, before the subject slipped into friends and elders he had growing up, the two of us exchanging stories of how we were troublesome children. We ended up doing this every night for the rest of the voyage, just talking about family and friends as he joined me in my stargazing.

I never thought I would enjoy sailing this much, never thought I'd not want a voyage to end, or the night to last just a little bit longer. But here I was, wishing for all these things as I stared up into the sky each night, gazing at my Seven Sisters and hoping that they knew I was alive and happy, even if I was so far, far away from them.

* * *

I'm so, so sorry this is late. I don't know what to say to you all... :'( Life happened to me. BUT I just want to make a special thanks to my beta DreamingAngelWolf! Also, to all the people who added the Long Road to their favorites/watch list recently, ya'll are awesome!


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